ORLANDO, Fla. — Franz Wagner scored 27 points, Desmond Bane added 22 points and seven assists and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 123-110 Friday night in their NBA Cup opener.<\/p>\n
Jaylen Brown scored 32 points for the Celtics. Payton Pritchard added 27 points and Derrick White had 16 points and 10 assists.<\/p>\n
The Celtics and Magic are grouped with Brooklyn, Detroit and Philadelphia in East Group B of the NBA’s in-season tournament. It was their first meeting since the Celtics eliminated the Magic in five games in a first-round playoff series in April. <\/p>\n
Paolo Banchero finished with 15 points and nine rebounds for the Magic.<\/p>\n
Wagner, Tristan da Silva and Anthony Black hit 3-pointers as part of a 20-2 run that gave Orlando a 16-point lead in the first quarter, the Magic’s largest advantage of the game. <\/p>\n
The Celtics rallied to tie the game in the second half and led 96-95 when Brown hit his final jumper midway through the fourth quarter.<\/p>\n
Wagner, Bane and Wendell Carter Jr. (18 points, five rebounds) countered with 3-pointers in a 17-4 run that put the game away.<\/p>\n
Brown scored 14 straight points for Boston before going to the bench for a six-minute break with 2:20 remaining in the third quarter.<\/p>\n
Anfernee Simons scored all 11 of his points early in the final period to help Boston stay in it until the final minutes.<\/p>\n
Orlando shot 50% overall and made 17 of 36 (47.2%) 3-pointers. Boston shot 13 for 37 (35.1%) from distance.<\/p>\n
The Celtics face the Magic again on Sunday in Orlando.<\/p>\n
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