The Boston Celtics host the Orlando Magic at TD Garden on Sunday, April 12, at 6:00 PM ET.
The Celtics are 55-26 and second in the East with a 29-11 home record, while the Magic are 45-36 and seventh in the East with a 19-19 record on the road.
The Celtics picked up a dominant 144-118 win over the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday, while the Magic are coming off a 127-103 victory over the Chicago Bulls, their fifth consecutive win. This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the two teams, with the season series currently 2-1 in Boston’s favor. Their last matchup was a 138-129 win for the Celtics on November 23, 2025.
The Celtics have ruled out Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum for this clash, with other stars such as Payton Pritchard and Nikola Vucevic listed as doubtful. Watch out for Luka Garza in this clash, with the former Naismith College Player of the Year averaging 7.8 points and 4.0 rebounds this season.
The Magic are led by Paolo Banchero, who’s averaging 22.2 points, 8.4 rebounds, and 5.1 assists this season. His co-star Desmond Bane will be available and look to put a fantastic finish on his first season with the franchise, averaging 20.2 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 4.2 assists this season.
The Celtics are already looking ahead to the postseason, while the Magic are hoping another win can help them climb to No. 6 in the standings and avoid the Play-In Tournament.
Injury Report
Celtics
Nikola Vucevic: Doubtful (finger)
Payton Pritchard: Doubtful (foot)
Sam Hauser: Doubtful (back)
Jaylen Brown: Out (Achilles)
Jayson Tatum: Out (Achilles)
Derrick White: Out (knee)
Neemias Queta: Out (toe)
Magic
Jonathan Isaac: Questionable (knee)
Jett Howard: Questionable (ankle)
Why The Celtics Have The Advantage
The only advantage the Celtics actually have in this matchup is the fact that they have home-court advantage in the vaunted TD Gardenn With most of their core rotation expected to miss this game in anticipation of the Playoffs, they’ll be fielding their end-of-bench players as they hope to pull off a huge upset.
None of the Celtics’ stats on the season would mean anything as a preview, given that the core rotation has all been ruled out. But we can look at certain consistencies across Joe Mazzulla’s system to try to identify what might help the Celtics pull off an upset win. The quality of the talent might lack the edge their main rotation has, but we know that Mazzulla will ensure the players on the court are playing to win. This includes the aggressive perimeter defense that holds opponents to 35.9 3P% on the season, with the Magic already being a poor shooting team at 34.4% from three this season.
The one hope the Celtics will carry into this game is hot shooting, vaulting them ahead. They shoot 42.0 three-pointers per game as a team this season and convert them at 36.7%. Many of their active players in this clash are capable shooters and will hope to catch fire at home to sink the Magic. There isn’t any inherent winning advantage for them, but the Celtics have proven all season that they don’t take any game for granted.
Why The Magic Have The Advantage
The Magic will have one of their healthiest rotations all season, with the potential of Jonathan Isaac and Jett Howard being available for this clash. A win might secure a top-six seed for the Magic while a loss could drop them as low as No. 9 in the East, so the winning stakes are as high as they can get for the franchise. Thankfully, they have a strong foundation and can rely on that to beat the shorthanded Celtics.
The Magic are well-equipped to stop the Celtics’ biggest potential advantage, which is their outside shooting. The Magic restrict opponents to 35.4% shooting from three, the 11th-best mark in the league. They also have had an offensive rating of 121.2 and a defensive rating of 108.3 over the last five games, which shows they’re peaking at the right time. The Celtics’ roster is far too underwhelming to keep up with a motivated Magic squad who have found its rhythm on the court.
The Magic are a much superior team on the fast break as well, creating 15.8 points in those situations compared to Boston’s 11.8. If the Magic get out and start running, the Celtics might not be able to catch up all game.
Center Wendell Carter Jr. was expected to miss the game but has been listed as available for this clash, adding more fire to the Magic’s lineup advantages for this game. The Celtics will rely on Garza to hold off the Magic, who average 43.3 rebounds per game on the season and create 14.9 second-chance points per game. If they can grab control of the glass, even a rough shooting night won’t stop them from pulling out a big win.
X-Factors
The limited options on the Celtics roster for this game mean it could be a big night for rookie Hugo Gonzales, who’s averaged 3.9 points and 3.3 rebounds in limited opportunities this season. He scored 10 points with four rebounds and three steals in Boston’s last game and should be tapped to be one of the featured players for the Celtics in their clash against Orlando.
Second-year guard Baylor Scheierman has been getting regular minutes in Boston’s rotation over the last 15 games, averaging 5.2 points, 3.4 rebounds, and 1.4 assists on the season. He had the first 20-point game of his career earlier this week against the New York Knicks and will be a key offensive piece for Boston in this clash.
Jalen Suggs might be too much to handle as an on-ball defender for the Celtics tonight. Suggs is averaging 13.6 points, 3.8 rebounds, 5.5 assists, and 1.9 steals per game in a down year offensively, but Suggs is one of the best defensive guards in the NBA. He’ll be a huge challenge to overcome for guards like Scheierman, so the Magic need him to have the best defensive performance he can deliver.
Anthony Black was having a breakout season with the Magic, averaging 15.0 points, 3.8 rebounds, and 3.7 assists, until a late-season abdomen injury sidelined him for weeks. He’s averaged 9.7 points since returning to the court and will be hoping he can regain his confidence before the postseason against a weakened Celtics rotation.
Prediction
It’s hard to say that the Celtics have even a chance of picking up a victory here. They’re a very well-coached unit that’s motivated to play winning basketball at all times, but the Magic have too many advantages on the court with a fully healthy roster. Unless there’s an incredible shooting performance from the Celtics, they won’t be able to keep such a motivated Magic team at bay, since a loss could be catastrophic for the Magic’s postseason chances.
Prediction: Celtics 97, Magic 117
