Celtics spellbound by Magic, Raptors march on

LOS ANGELES, USA – Nikola Vucevic weighed in with 24 points as the Orlando Magic defeated the Boston Celtics at the TD Garden on Monday, October 22, in an Eastern Conference upset.

Montenegrin center Vucevic also hauled down 12 rebounds to give Orlando their second win of the season in a 93-90 victory.

Orlando surged into an early 28-19 lead at the end of the first quarter and held a 48-45 lead at half-time.

The Magic kept their noses in front for the entire contest, with Boston unable to take the lead at any stage as Orlando held on. 

Four other Orlando players cracked double figures on a night when the scoring was shared around by the visitors. 

Jonathan Isaac had 18 points while Evan Fournier (14) and Aaron Gordon (13) also contributed.

Boston, tipped as one of the favorites for the Eastern Conference title this season, struggled to get going. 

Kyrie Irving finished with 22 points but it was a frustrating evening for the rest of the Celtics line-up with Al Horford restricted to 15 points and Gordon Hayward 11. 

The Celtics had a chance to tie the game late in the fourth quarter but Hayward’s three-pointer missed as the buzzer sounded.

In other games on Monday, the Toronto Raptors maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a 127-106 blowout over the Charlotte Hornets.

Kemba Walker had 26 points for Charlotte but the Raptors all-round scoring proved too much for the visitors. 

Kawhi Leonard led the scoring for Toronto with 22 points, while four other players chipped in with double-digit tallies. 

Jonas Valanciunas had 17 points off the bench while Kyle Lowry and Danny Green made 16 points apiece.