With Play-In game at 76ers ahead, Magic deal with another lack of urgency at Boston

BOSTON — Maybe it happened because of a lack of effort.

Or a lack of energy.

Or even a lack of execution and direction.

Whatever the reason, the Magic — with home-court advantage for the NBA Play-In Tournament on the line — fell to the shorthanded Celtics 113-108 Sunday inside TD Garden and now have to travel to Philadelphia for the Nos. 7-8 Play-In game on Wednesday.

“It was a must-win game, at least I thought,” Magic forward Paolo Banchero said in the locker room after his 23-point, 10-rebound and 11-assist triple-double wasn’t enough in the five-point loss. “I just think we didn’t come out with urgency. It’s frustrating, honestly.”

If that answer sounds familiar, that’s because it should.

After Orlando‘s franchise-record 52-point loss at Toronto roughly two weeks ago, Magic coach Jamahl Mosley pointed toward his team not playing with a sense of urgency from the jump against the Raptors.

Go back a week prior to that loss and Mosley again mentioned the team needing a sense of urgency in the third quarter of Orlando’s two-point loss to the then-16-win Pacers at Kia Center.

Even after Orlando’s 17-point loss to the Grizzlies in London on Jan. 18, Mosley said his team needed to understand it had come out with a sense of urgency early against Memphis.

Time and time again, the Magic have failed to accomplish that goal and it has cost them. And on Sunday, it cost them the chance to host a matchup that will determine the No. 7 seed in the first round of the East playoffs.

“I definitely didn’t play my best basketball,” Banchero said. “I think collectively, we just have to have more urgency. We can’t expect to win just because guys are out.”

The “guys” who were out for Boston represented the team’s top seven scorers and a variety of key rotational players, including Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, Payton Pritchard, Derrick White, Neemias Queta and Sam Hauser. Because of their absences related to minor injuries and the Celtics already locked into the No. 2 spot in the East, Boston only had eight players available.

Four of them recorded career-high scoring performances: Baylor Scheierman notched 30 points, Ron Harper Jr. and Luka Garza both finished with 27 and John Tonje racked on 13 more.

“They hit a ton of shots, we turned it over, gave them a couple extra opportunities and that was a big portion of the ballgame,” Mosley said. “But you’ve got to give Boston a hell of a ton of credit for the way they came out with those 7-8 guys and played their tails off.”

Boston shot 19 for 50 (38%) from 3-point range, scored 23 points off 19 Orlando turnovers and used a 42-20 third quarter to take control of the contest.

The Magic fell behind by as many as 11 points after leading by as many as 16 earlier in the game. Orlando was able to tie the game at 108 with 36.4 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, but Boston scored the final five points of the night.

“The run in the third quarter was tough,” Magic guard Jalen Suggs said. “I think we just dug a hole. I’m always gonna look inward. … I think if I don’t turn the ball over that much in the first half and we’re able to push that lead from nine to 15-16, I think we’re looking at something a little different.

“I think playing with a bit more energy, with a bit more effort, you can always say that looking back on it, but yeah, we can’t drop that one and we know it,” he added. “So, you put that on everybody.”

If the No. 8 (45-37) Magic win Wednesday at No. 7 Philadelphia (45-37), they’d face off against the Celtics again in the first round.

Of course, Boston will be at full strength when its first round playoff series opens Sunday at 1 p.m. on ABC. The Celtics eliminated the Magic in just five games during last year’s best-of-seven first-round series.

The team that falls Wednesday at Philadelphia will host the winner of the Nos. 9-10 game (Miami and Charlotte) on Friday at 7:30 p.m. on Amazon’s Prime Network in a do-or-die game for the No. 8 seed in the playoffs. The No. 10 Heat travel to the No. 9 Hornets on Tuesday night to determine who will get a shot at reaching the first round.

“It’s not like everything is bad,” Magic forward Franz Wagner said in the locker room. “We lost the game (Sunday) that we should’ve won and that’s part of it, too, sometimes. (We’ve) got to go in there with the right mindset and play better basketball.”

Wagner continued to play under a minutes restriction Sunday in just his sixth game back from the extended rehab of a left high ankle sprain that’s forced him to miss a total of 48 games this season.

Often with his left leg wrapped when sitting on the bench, the German forward totaled 20 points and four rebounds in 26 minutes.

“I’m trying to push through and get as much time out there as I can,” he said. “I feel all right.

“For sure, it’s frustrating but there’s only one way to get past that and that’s to push through it and do it in a smart way,” he later added about the minutes restriction. “But to go to that point consistently, and that’s all I can do.”

The Magic will need each and every minute from Wagner on Wednesday against the Sixers. While all 10 No. 7 seeds have advanced to the first round of the playoff via the Play-In since 2021, only seven of the 11 No. 8 seeds have advanced in that span.

And much like Sunday at Boston, there’s no reason the Magic shouldn’t play with heightened focus and energy at Philadelphia.

“Just to come out with urgency,” Banchero said when asked what’s key to win Wednesday. “That’s the biggest thing. We can’t be relaxed.

“The season’s on the line at this point and we’re just making it harder and harder on ourselves so hopefully we’ll respond.”

Jason Beede can be reached at jbeede@orlandosentinel.com

Up next …

Magic at 76ers, Play-In Tournament

When: 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Xfinity Mobile Arena

TV: Prime Video