Final: Magic 95, Celtics 93 - Disaster 3rd quarter dooms C's in Game 3 loss

(1) BOSTON CELTICS vs. (7) ORLANDO MAGIC

First Round, Game 3 (BOS leads 2-0)

Kia Center, 7 p.m. - ESPN/NBCS Boston

Line: Celtics -5.5

INJURIES

BOSTON

OUT: Jrue Holiday (hamstring) 

ORLANDO

OUT: Jalen Suggs (knee), Mo Wagner (knee)

FIVE THINGS I’M LOOKING FOR

1. Tatum’s wrist: I watched him warm up and I wouldn’t have thought anything was wrong with him if I didn’t know he was dealing with a bone bruise. Of course, warming up is a lot different than playing in the game. He’s going to get slapped across that wrist plenty so let’s see how he reacts to getting hit there. 

2. Brown’s knee: It flared up enough for him to be back on the injury report. I know my last headline was that he put the questions about his knee to rest, but once the team listed him as questionable, those questions have to be asked again. I’m just curious to see if something flared up and if he’s limited at all. 

3. Who fills Jrue’s shoes? One of the keys to Boston’s runs in Games 1 and 2 was Holiday’s pressure. He’s lowkey been the most important player to this team in both their wins, so we need to see how the Celtics handle what would have been his minutes. Is this a Torrey Craig game? Do they just increase someone else’s minutes? 

4. Outlier shooting: I just know Kentavious Caldwell-Pope has a big shooting night in him. Is this going to be it? Will it be enough to sink Boston? 

5. Taking their first punch: Whoever hits the shots, I expect Orlando to come storming out of the gates. A big early lead is meaningless, but it would force Boston to play from behind for once. If Orlando does, in fact, take a big early lead, can Boston walk it down by the end of the quarter or early in the second? Can they demoralize Orlando by erasing that lead and playing their way? 

Follow along with my thoughts as the game goes on. They’ll show up below and in the comments section, so hop in and share your opinion as well.