Boston Celtics prepared to put up fight against the physical Orlando Magic in Game 4

ORLANDO – The Orlando Magic will be looking to even their National Basketball Association (NBA) Eastern Conference first-round play-off series when they meet the visiting Boston Celtics in Game 4 on April 27 (April 28, Singapore time).

After losing two games in Boston, seventh-seeded Orlando rebounded by earning a 95-93 home victory on April 25 in the best-of-seven series.

The second-seeded Celtics, who played without Jrue Holiday (strained right hamstring) in Game 3, are 0-3 in Orlando this season.

Boston led by 10 points at half-time, but were held to a season-low 11 points in the third period.

“We just got stagnant,” Celtics forward Jayson Tatum said. “We’ve just got to play with some more pace and movement. That’s when we’re just at our best.”

As has been the case all series, Franz Wagner (32 points) and Paolo Banchero (29) provided most of the Orlando scoring. Wagner also had eight assists and seven rebounds.

“I would say really gutsy,” Banchero said when he was asked about Wagner’s effort. “He was locked in from start to finish on both sides of the ball, just being ultra-aggressive on both sides of the floor.”

There was some concern about Tatum’s health after he missed Game 2 with a bruised wrist, but he led all scorers with 36 points. He tossed in 21 points in the first half, but Orlando’s physical style of play got the better of Boston in the second half.

“It’s just dealing with pain tolerance,” Tatum said. “The treatment has been progressing every day and I felt like I could try to go out there and play.”

Orlando picked up their third flagrant foul of the series when guard Cole Anthony yanked on Jaylen Brown’s arm as the latter drove to the basket in the second quarter. Brown said he sustained a dislocated finger on the play.

“I dislocated my index finger, but I got nine more, so I’m all right,” Brown said. “There might be a fight break out or something because it’s starting to feel like it’s not even basketball, and the refs are not controlling the environment.”

Kristaps Porzingis added: “We have to also bring our game and our physicality. That’s what teams need to do to compete with us. They got us (April 25), but we’ll bounce back.”

In the Western Conference, Aaron Gordon slammed down a dunk as time expired to give the Denver Nuggets a dramatic and much-needed 101-99 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers to level the series 2-2 in Inglewood.

Meanwhile, the Golden State Warriors rallied past the visiting Houston Rockets 104-93 to take a 2-1 lead in San Francisco.

The NBA-best Oklahoma City Thunder became the first team to reach the second round after beating the Memphis Grizzlies 117-115 to take the series 4-0.

Eastern top seeds the Cleveland Cavaliers are close to joining them after they took a 3-0 stranglehold following a 124-87 win over the Miami Heat. REUTERS