The Boston Celtics, the team that was our top-ranked team for several weeks in our NBA power rankings, hosted the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The Magic, in another surprising result for the team, won the game in a contest that was competitive in the final possessions. They put up a one-possession spread in the game, winning by 3 points. The final score was Orlando 95, Boston 92.
Magic @ Celtics Sunday: Paolo Banchero scores 31
With the loss, the Celtics are now 22-9 on the season. For a top team in the NBA, the Celtics did have a truly terrible week. They went just 1-3 this last week, including two home losses to the Magic. We will be updating our power rankings shortly and it's hard to picture Boston staying on top behind such a dismal week.
It will be interesting to see if the Boston Celtics ponder any changes in the days ahead. They are not the kind of franchise that stands pat when things are not going well.
Meanwhile, the Magic improved to 11-20 with the 3-point victory. With an 11-20 record, they will not be emerging in anyone's top ten for NBA power rankings anytime soon. However, that's not due to poor form of late. The Magic have won six games in a row and that should be turning some heads when it comes to sports futures. You have to think that this is a team that just might emerge as a threat to make the play-in tournament and maybe even the field-of-eight playoffs for their conference.
The leading scorer in the game was Paolo Banchero of the Magic. He had 31 points in the game and six rebounds en route to a +4 point differential for the game.
Further reading: NBA Power Rankings
