Summarize and humanize this content to 2000 words in 6 paragraphs in EnglishBOSTON — The Orlando Magic did some important things well Sunday against the Boston Celtics. But generating offense from anyone other than Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner was not one of those positives.For the Magic to stretch this Eastern Conference first-round series beyond four games, or even hope to threaten the Celtics’ championship defense, someone on the roster — or, preferably, more than one person — must give Banchero and Wagner some scoring help.Orlando lost to Boston 103-86 at TD Garden in Game 1, but in some ways, Orlando was fortunate the outcome wasn’t more lopsided. Together, Banchero and Wagner accounted for 59 points while their teammates combined to score 27 points on 10-of-30 shooting.“I’ve really got to go back and watch the game to see what went wrong,” Banchero said. “But it’s Game 1. There’s nerves. (A) lit crowd. Really loud. So, not a total surprise that we struggled a little bit on offense, honestly.”True. Not a surprise. The Magic finished their regular season 27th in the NBA in offensive rating and last in 3-point shooting percentage. They also endured more than enough long scoring droughts to know that they would suffer through difficult stretches against the Celtics. Boston, after all, has an elite defense with four switchable perimeter defenders in its starting lineup and a good shot-blocker down low.Still, even in a playoff environment in which Boston amped up its defensive intensity, receiving 27 total points from everyone other than Banchero and Wagner must have been difficult for the Magic to stomach.“They’ve got a lot on their shoulders as the offensive scorers on the team,” said big man Jonathan Isaac, who scored seven points, Orlando’s third-highest total Sunday. “We’ve got to do a better job as role players.”Coach Jamahl Mosley said his team needs to “play faster,” which, as he would acknowledge, is easier said than done against the Celtics.When the Magic are at their best, they generate turnovers or stops with their defense, push the ball upcourt and create shot opportunities before their opponent sets its defense. Not having injured Jalen Suggs, their most disruptive perimeter defender, reduces their volume of transition scoring opportunities. Against Boston on Sunday, Orlando managed only four fast-break points on three shot attempts.“We did a great job in the first half pushing the pace and crashing that glass,” reserve guard Cole Anthony said. “The second half, we kind of got away from it as a team. So, I think if we can maintain that pace for 48 (minutes), we’ll have a chance.”The second quarter, in which Orlando scored 31 points, supported Anthony’s point. The Magic limited the Celtics 35 percent shooting and caused four turnovers over those 12 minutes and used those stops to their advantage, going 12-of-19 from the field.Kentavious Caldwell-Pope made his only buckets of the game in that quarter, sinking a pair of 3-pointers. There was nothing easy about the first basket. Caldwell-Pope drained a 3-pointer from the right wing over Derrick White’s outstretched right arm. Caldwell-Pope’s other trey was a bit of a fluke; Jaylen Brown deflected a pass by Banchero, and Orlando’s Cory Joseph collected the basketball in the paint. Joseph hurled the ball to the right corner, and Caldwell-Pope sank the open shot.Banchero finished with 36 points on 14-of-27 shooting and four assists. Wagner was less efficient, scoring 23 points on 10-of-24 shooting and adding four assists.Neither of Orlando’s stars was perfect. Banchero had five turnovers, while Wagner had four turnovers of his own.The Magic’s half-court offense is predicated on getting the ball to Banchero or Wagner and having someone set a screen to give Banchero or Wagner a matchup against a smaller or less mobile defender. It’s then the responsibility of Banchero or Wagner to make the right play, to either attack for themselves or pass to an open teammate.Sometimes, however, the Magic take too long to produce that mismatch for Banchero and Wagner, giving them, and their teammates, too little remaining time on the shot clock to move the ball. On Sunday, the Celtics applied enough pressure early in a possession on the Magic’s ballhandlers to slow down the Magic’s offense even further.Asked how Orlando can generate more scoring from everyone else, Wagner answered, “Keep moving the ball, knowing that everybody has to be aggressive on the catch. On a couple of possessions, I thought we moved the ball really well and got multiple drives within possessions. That’s when we got good looks. Everybody has to be ready to play on the catch.”Whether Banchero and Wagner have enough confidence in their teammates to hit open shots is a fair question. During the regular season, Orlando sank a league-worst 35.1 percent of 3-point attempts in which the closest defender was more than 6 feet away.Wagner, especially, can be more efficient, too, and not just with his shooting.Early in the fourth quarter, White missed a 3-pointer off the top of the backboard, allowing the Magic to speed forward with the ball. Wagner had Caldwell-Pope open on the break, but Wagner didn’t pass the ball, allowing Jayson Tatum and Al Horford to converge on him. Wagner threw an off-target pass to center Wendell Carter Jr., and the Celtics regained the ball.Carter finished with four points, and the team needs more from him, but not just him.Asked how the supporting cast can be more productive, Carter answered, “Be aggressive. When we do get our hands on that ball, we’ve got to be aggressive. From KCP to me to (Joseph), we’ve got to find out ways to get our buckets. Those two guys (Banchero and Wagner) are going to be phenomenal on the offensive end. We’ve just got to find a way to get ourselves going on that end.”Some welcome news for the Magic is that they now have experience in the playoffs that they can draw on this time. Last April, they lost the opening game of their first-round series against the Cleveland Cavaliers 97-83 but recovered to extend that series to seven games. Of course, it helped the Magic that they had Suggs and sixth man Moe Wagner available, with Suggs wreaking havoc on defense and Wagner scoring in the half court.“Speaking for myself, we understand it’s a seven-game series,” Carter said Sunday. “They’ve got to beat us another three times, and I don’t think that’s going to happen. So that’s something that we take pride in.”(Photo of Paolo Banchero and Jaylen Brown: Bob DeChiara / Imagn Images)
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