Looking at the Orlando Magic schedule leading into the season, seeing the Boston Celtics near Christmas Day was going to be an exciting one. However, no one foresaw the Magic being down two of their top three stars and their sixth man and still beating the defending NBA Champions, 108-104. With the limited availability on the Magic roster, guard Trevelin Queen as a two-way player with the G-League’s Osecola Magic made his first NBA start turning in a 17-point performance tying his NBA career-high. Boston was missing star forward Jason Tatum in the contest due to an illness.

Franchise forward Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner are both still missing due to right oblique injuries with Mo Wagner out for the year with a torn ACL. Jalen Suggs started after missing the game Saturday night against the Miami Heat and delivered a dunk in the first quarter that removed whatever doubt there may have been in his mobility. Suggs finished with 16 points connecting on five of his 13 shots along with five assists.

Celtics Star Jaylen Brown had 15 points in the first quarter before finishing with 35 on the night. While both teams struggled from beyond the arc, the Celtics shot 51% from the floor compared to the Magic’s 33% after two quarters for Orlando to face a 58-43 deficit at the half.

In the 3rd quarter, the Magic came out with a seven-point run to reduce the lead to eight. Before the end of the quarter, the Magic would take the lead for the first time in the game, but the score was tied at 79 heading into the 4th quarter. Queen turned in 10 points in the quarter while picking up his 4th foul of the contest.

In the 4th quarter, Orlando got rolling again to take a seven-point lead. The Celtics battled back with help from Kristaps Porzingis pouring in 17 points while connecting on 13 of his 14 free throw attempts. When the threes weren’t falling, Boston created mismatches and posted Porzingis in the paint where they scored 50 points as a team.

On one exchange, Suggs and Porzingis began jawing at each other when Magic starting center Goga Bitadze intervened getting between the two. Bitadze was ejected with 3:32 left in the contest.

In the game’s final minute, Brown hit a shot to put Boston within one where all his squad needed was a stop to get a chance to win. However, with around 10 seconds left, rookie Tristan da Silva hit a three-pointer that sealed the victory and made him the team’s leading scorer for the night.

Da Silva’s clutch three was one of seven the Magic made out of their 35 attempts. However, Boston delivered a season-low in three-pointers attempted and made connecting on eight of their 33. The Magic was also perfect on their free throws hitting all 21 attempts. The two teams would finish with identical field goal percentages of 44.6%

The Magic will host the Heat again on Thursday as the first of a back-to-back hosting the New York Knicks on Friday. They complete their home stretch with the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday.