It was an underrated return for one player as one of the newest members of the Boston Celtics, Jameer Nelson, came back for the first time to take on his former team that he played with for over 10 seasons. Nelson led a late charge but it wasn’t enough as his former franchise, Orlando Magic, defeated his new team, Boston Celtics, 100-95.
Tobias Harris scored 19 points with Nikola Vucevic and Kyle O’Quinn each adding 18 points with Vucevic getting 12 rebounds and O’Quinn getting 13 rebounds as Orlando ended a four-game losing streak. Elfrid Payton had 12 on the night with 7 assists.
Tyler Zeller led the Celtics with 22 points and 10 rebounds. Avery Bradley added 20 points with, and Kelly Olynyk scored 14 with 8 rebounds off the bench. Brandon Bass had 11 off the bench as well and starting power forward Jared Sullinger was benched after only playing 9 minutes and didn’t score one point. Jameer Nelson started for Boston and scored 9 points while handing out 11 assists.
Orlando looked to be in complete control in the second half and led by as many as 27 points but the lead was shaved down to 3 points in the final minutes. The Magic were outscored 35-15 in the fourth quarter, but never trailed in the game. Olynyk’s 3-pointer got Boston down 3 at 90-87 with just 2:34 to play, but the Magic were able to hang on late with some key free throws to get the victory on the road.
Orlando Magic are 11-20. Boston Celtics are 10-16.
Full Game Highlights
