Although the Celtics overcame an early 16-point deficit and regained the lead early in the fourth quarter, they sputtered down the stretch and eventually fell, 123-110.
Jaylen Brown had 32 points and 9 rebounds to lead the Celtics, and Payton Pritchard added 27 points.
Franz Wagner had 27 points to lead the Magic, who made a season-best 17 of 36 3-pointers and finished the Celtics with a 39-point fourth quarter.
A Derrick White 3-pointer with 9:12 left gave the Celtics an 89-87 lead, their first since 12-10. But Boston started to unravel down the stretch. Still ahead by 1, Josh Minott chased down a rebound but tossed a pass under the Magic basket that was intercepted by Anthony Black, who converted an easy layup.
Wagner, who was just 1 for 6 from beyond the arc, then hit one from the right corner, putting his hands in the air afterward as if to say it was about time.
Neemias Queta missed a layup that could have sliced the deficit to 2, and then committed a take foul immediately afterward. Bane cashed in the technical free throw and then added a 3-pointer that made it 104-96, and the Celtics never threatened again.
Boston committed three turnovers over the last four minutes and had five in the quarter.
The Magic do not shoot 3-pointers often, and they are not known for making them when they do fire up attempts. But neither of those truths was obvious in the first half Friday.
Orlando, which entered the night averaging just 10.3 3-pointers per contest, just 28th in the NBA, started 6 for 7 from beyond the arc and drilled seven long balls in the opening quarter alone.
But early effort plays probably grated on Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla more than the uncharacteristically hot shooting.
During one sequence, Bane missed a 3-pointer before Goga Bitadze grabbed the rebound and fed Bane, who faced no resistance as he sliced to the hoop for a layup. Moments later, Tristan da Silva added another 3-poitner that followed an offensive rebound.
That was part of the Magic’s powerful 20-2 run that Mazzulla twice called timeouts to attempt to stop. Anfernee Simons was taken out during that run after just a two-minute stint in which Boston was outscored by 11, with Mazzulla seemingly displeased by his lack of hustle. Simons did not return in the half.
After that surge gave Orlando a 30-14 lead, Mazzulla was clearly searching for effort and a spark. He turned to an unusual lineup that included Pritchard, Sam Hauser, Luka Garza, Hugo Gonzalez, and Jordan Walsh. The group immediately helped reset the tone by grabbing a pair of offensive rebounds during one trip upcourt, and a Hauser 3-pointer was followed by a Pritchard 3-point play.
But some of the group’s work was undone when Jalen Suggs hit a 3-pointer with 32 seconds left, just before the shot-clock expired.
Walsh, who has slid out of the regular rotation for much of this year, stayed in to start the second quarter and provided a spark. He had a blocked shot that led to a Derrick White 3-point play and followed that up with a steal.
Walsh gobbled up five rebounds during his 12 first-half minutes, and the Celtics outscored the Magic by 6 points with him on the court. He helped turn up the defensive pressure for the Celtics, who forced seven turnovers in the period and pulled within 59-51 at the break.
The Celtics maintained their second-quarter energy in the third. Minott crashed for a big offensive rebound as he was fouled, Pritchard hounded Suggs in the backcourt and came up with a steal that led to a 3, and Brown started attacking and did not stop.
The Celtics All-Star was 7 for 7 during a stretch in which he made every Celtics basket, and none came from beyond the arc. Instead he slid to midrange openings and sliced to the rim for layups, helping Boston pull within 84-80 to start the fourth.
With the Magic leading, 86-80, Simons atoned for his earlier missteps by hitting back-to-back 3s to tie the score.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
