By ,
Published January 08, 2015
Orlando, FL (SportsNetwork.com) - Tobias Harris scored 19 points, Kyle O'Quinn and Nikola Vucevic each recorded double-doubles, and the Orlando Magic fended off the Boston Celtics, 100-95, on Tuesday.
The Magic won despite nearly blowing a 27-point lead in the fourth quarter. They were held to 15 points over the last 10 minutes, but did just enough to snap a four-game slide.
O'Quinn and Vucevic each provided 18 points and combined for 25 rebounds.
"We let up...but we somehow found a way," O'Quinn said.
Tyler Zeller scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to pace the Celtics, who have dropped two in a row on the heels of a three-game winning streak.
Jameer Nelson, playing his first game as a visitor in Orlando, finished with nine points and 11 assists and was vital in Boston's near comeback.
Nelson made a 3-pointer and assisted on five other baskets during a 27-3 run that trimmed a 27-point deficit down to three, 90-87, coming down the stretch.
"He spurred us on and fired us up," Zeller said of Nelson.
His pinpoint, left-handed dish to a cutting Zeller led to a layup and pulled the Celtics within 90-84, and the Magic called a momentum-killing timeout with 2:34 left after Kelly Olynyk made a 3-pointer in transition.
Harris, who was questionable with a finger injury coming in, spun in a tough fadeaway in the lane coming out of the break, and O'Quinn made two from the foul line the next time down for a 94-87 Magic lead.
Orlando missed three free throws in the final 37.3 seconds, but nonetheless came away victorious.
The Celtics' first quarter was summed up when they forced a turnover and had numbers going the other way. Evan Turner coughed the ball up at midcourt, and Vucevic threw down an alley-oop dunk at the other end.
The sequence was part of a 20-4 run to open the game, and the Celtics wound up scoring an embarrassing nine points in the first quarter on 2-of-22 (9.1 percent) shooting.
An Evan Fournier runner four minutes into the second stretched Orlando's lead to 40-15, and it was a 53-30 spread at the break.
The lead never dipped below 19 in the third quarter.
Game Notes
Nelson spent the first 10 years of his career in Orlando and signed with the Mavericks in the offseason. The veteran was part of the deal that sent Rajon Rondo to Dallas last week ... The Celtics beat the Magic by 17 in Boston last Wednesday ... Olynyk totaled 14 points off the bench for the Celtics, who also received 20 points from Avery Bradley.
https://www.foxnews.com/sports/magic-cling-to-large-lead-hold-off-celtics