WITH their stars resting, the Boston Celtics bench delivered a stunning 113-108 victory over Orlando on Sunday night (Monday, April 13, 2026, in PH), forcing the Magic into a road play-in game.
According to the Associated Press, Baylor Scheierman exploded for a career-high 30 points, while Luka Garza contributed 27 points and 12 rebounds — none bigger than his go-ahead three-pointer with 31.6 seconds remaining.
Ron Harper Jr. also set a personal best with 27 points for Boston (56-26), which had already locked up the Eastern Conference’s No. 2 seed despite playing most of the season without Jayson Tatum, who was recovering from Achilles tendon surgery.
The Magic (45-37) entered Sunday riding a five-game winning streak and appeared poised to secure the No. 7 seed and a home play-in game. Instead, the loss dropped them to eighth, forcing a road matchup against Philadelphia.
Paolo Banchero recorded a triple-double with 23 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds, and Jalen Suggs also scored 23 points, but it wasn’t enough to overcome Boston’s reserves.
Boston sat eight regular rotation players, including stars Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
The game turned decisively in the third quarter, where the Celtics caught fire from deep, hitting nine of 16 three-pointers and outscoring Orlando 42-20 to turn a halftime deficit into a 94-81 lead. Scheierman keyed a 12-2 spurt with two of Boston’s four three-pointers in a 1:48 span.
Orlando refused to fold. Wendell Carter Jr.’s free throw cut the lead to 108-105 with 1:37 left, and Suggs buried a tying three-pointer from the right wing. But Garza answered immediately, taking a pass off an inbounds play, turning and drilling the decisive shot, the AP reported.
The Celtics had led by as many as 16 early in the final quarter before Banchero’s layup pulled Orlando within five with under four minutes remaining.
In other NBA action, Detroit topped Indiana 133-121, the Toronto Raptors routed the Brooklyn Nets 136-101, Charlotte beat New York 110-96, Miami Heat defeated Atlanta Hawks 143-117, Cleveland Cavaliers downed Washington Wizards 130-117, Philadelphia 76ers topped Milwaukee Bucks 126-106, and Phoenix won at Oklahoma City 135-103.
Elsewhere, the Houston Rockets routed the Memphis Grizzlies 132-101, Dallas Mavericks beat Chicago Bulls 149-128, Los Angeles Lakers defeated Utah Jazz 131-107, LA Clippers edged Golden State Warriors 115-110, Denver won at San Antonio 128-118, Portland Trail Blazers beat Sacramento Kings 122-110, and the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 132-126. / LBG
