Franz Wagner scored 27 points, Desmond Bane added 22 points and seven assists and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 123-110 in their NBA Cup opener

Franz Wagner (27 points) was one of seven Magic players to score in double figures, as the Celtics sputtered down the stretch

Boston fought back from down 16, but ultimately, Orlando’s hot-shooting handed the Celtics their first NBA Cup loss.

Boston gave up 38 and 39 in the first and fourth quarters, respectively. The post Magic pull away, beat Celtics despite another big Jaylen Brown game: 8 takeaways appeared first on Boston.com.

The Celtics will look to stay in the win column for their second NBA Cup contest of the 2025-26 season as they head to Florida to take on the Magic.

Brown seemed to be suggesting that the referees wanted retribution against him after he criticized officials earlier in the week.

The Celtics tip off a three-game road trip on Friday night with the first of two consecutive games against the Magic. Friday’s game is an NBA Cup Group B game, while Sunday’s contest is not. The Celtics are coming off a 136-107 romp over Washington on Wednesday but have lost two of their last three.

Jaylen Brown insinuated his quiet fourth quarter in Friday’s Celtics loss was linked to his earlier criticism of NBA officials. After scoring 30 points in the first three quarters against the Magic, Brown managed just two on 1-of-5 shooting in the fourth.