There will be no sweep. A physical, taxing series the Boston Celtics want to end as quickly as possible will at least require a Game 5 to accomplish.
The Celtics fell 95-93 to the Orlando Magic in Game 3 at the Kia Center. According to NBC Sports Boston's stats guru, Dick Lipe, they had won 33 consecutive playoff games when holding the opponent under 100 points.
But that streak ended in a grueling game that lasted nearly three hours. At the root of it were decisive losses on the margins.
The Celtics had the second-fewest turnovers this season [11.9]. They had 21 tonight, leading to 26 points for the Magic.
"You have to give them credit," Joe Mazzulla told Hardwood Houdini regarding how much of that issue was self-inflicted and how much stemmed from Orlando's physicality. "I thought it was a combination of both. They -- obviously -- upped their physicality at the point of attack. [They] pushed more in the half-court. They didn't accept switching.
"So, I would say credit to them with their defensive physicality. We also had some ones that we have to be better at."
Jaylen Brown also shared his assessment of what Boston's excessive turnover rate in Game 3 stemmed from.
"I give credit to them," conveyed Brown. "It was all their physicality and stuff. You can't call every foul. I had some turnovers. [I] had two offensive fouls in the third quarter that I disagree with, but that added to it, and a kicked-ball violation as well.
"My team needs me to take care of the basketball. [The] team needs JT [Jayson Tatum] to take care of basketball. We've got to be better."
Celtics also done in by struggles on the glass
Boston had 17 second-chance points to Orlando's 11 in the series opener. The Celtics had a 13-7 edge in offensive rebounds in Game 2. That led to a 20-10 advantage in second-chance scoring. The Magic decisively swung those outcomes in Friday's win.
The hosts had 16 offensive rebounds, parlaying them into 15 second-chance points. The visitors had eight of the former and 10 of the latter.
"They were more physical than us on the offensive glass," Mazzulla told Hardwood Houdini. "So that's 40 points on the margins between the turnovers and second-chance points. So, we just have to be better. When you don't do those things, [then] it comes down to a close game."
The Magic ranked 28th in scoring in the regular season, averaging just 105.4 points per contest. For them to survive, they must find wins on the margins. Despite shooting 41 percent from the field and 8/32 [25 percent] in Game 3, the rate they did so on Friday is why this series is 2-1.