The Orlando Magic appeared poised to cap off the 2025-26 NBA regular season on a high note with a prime opportunity to extend their winning streak to six games against the shorthanded Boston Celtics.
Instead, Boston’s reserves improbably prevailed 113-108 on Sunday, sending shockwaves across the Eastern Conference playoff picture and the NBA world at large.
Magic Decide Multiple East Teams’ 1st-Round Playoff Matchups
Orlando entered Sunday tied with the Toronto Raptors for sixth in the East, looking to lock up at least home-court advantage for the conference’s No. 7 vs. No. 8 play-in clash.
After Toronto dispatched the Brooklyn Nets 136-101 and the Atlanta Hawks fell 143-117 to the Miami Heat, both teams finished tied for the fifth seed. An Orlando victory would have resulted in a three-way tie, pushing Atlanta to the fifth spot via its division-winning tiebreaker.
However, the Magic managed to dig themselves into a 16-point hole against the Celtics’ B team before clawing their way back and losing in crushing fashion.
Making a rare start as Boston sat out eight key rotation players with nothing to play for, big man Luka Garza came up clutch, drilling a critical 3-pointer to put his squad ahead 111-108 with 31.6 seconds remaining.
“A DIFFERENT KIND OF LUKA MAGIC!”
Luka Garza in the clutch, Mark Jones on the call 🔥 pic.twitter.com/DRwhGPfkSy
— ESPN (@espn) April 13, 2026
Garza finished with a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, while Celtics wings Baylor Scheierman and Ron Harper Jr. delivered career bests of 30 points and 27 points, respectively.
The unexpected outcome plummeted Orlando (45-37) to the eighth seed after losing a tiebreaker with the Philadelphia 76ers (45-37) for the seventh spot. Meanwhile, the Raptors (46-36) secured the fifth seed via a tiebreaker with the Hawks (46-36), moving the latter to the sixth spot.
Toronto will now face the fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers (52-30), Atlanta will take on the third-placed New York Knicks (53-29), and Orlando will visit Philadelphia in the play-in.
The Eastern Conference Playoffs are set!
(1) Pistons vs. 8-seed
(2) Celtics vs. 7-seed
(3) Knicks vs. (6) Hawks
(4) Cavs vs. (5) Raptors*play in*
(7) 76ers vs. (8) Magic
(9) Hornets vs. (10) Heat pic.twitter.com/rm3Sd97r6M— SleeperHoops (@Sleeper_Hoops) April 13, 2026
The last-minute seeding shake-up left NBA pundits in disbelief, with some taking aim at the Magic, who have endured a tumultuous season despite their recent success.
“Unbelievable Celtics win and an even worse Magic loss. Joe Mazzulla incapable of tanking ever under any circumstances. 5-6-7-8 seeds just got thrown into a blender!” The Ringer’s Bill Simmons, an avid Boston supporter, reacted.
Unbelievable Celtics win and an even worse Magic loss. Joe Mazzulla incapable of tanking ever under any circumstances. 5-6-7-8 seeds just got thrown into a blender!
— Bill Simmons (@BillSimmons) April 13, 2026
“Wow. What a turn of events. The Knicks will now host the Hawks, not the Raptors, in the playoffs after Boston’s G League-adjacent team beats Orlando. New York went 2-1 against ATL, and both wins were by 3 points. The loss was by 12 — Knicks missed a few key guys in loss. Knicks dominated Toronto all season,” The Athletic’s James L. Edwards III pointed out.
Wow. What a turn of events.
The Knicks will now host the Hawks, not the Raptors, in the playoffs after Boston’s G League-adjacent team beats Orlando.
New York went 2-1 against ATL, and both wins were by 3 points. The loss was by 12 — Knicks missed a few key guys in loss.…
— James L. Edwards III (@JLEdwardsIII) April 13, 2026
“Knicks will face the Hawks in the first round. Obviously a tough matchup. New York snapped Atlanta’s 13-game home winning streak earlier this week, winning a tight game with some big shots from Jalen Brunson down the stretch,” SNY’s Ian Begley opined.
Knicks will face the Hawks in the first round. Obviously a tough matchup. New York snapped Atlanta’s 13-game home winning streak earlier this week, winning a tight game with some big shots from Jalen Brunson down the stretch
— Ian Begley (@IanBegley) April 13, 2026
“It’s all gone sideways for the Magic this season. It’s not just tonight, but they regularly look like five guys wearing the same jersey vs. being a team. They used to play hard, no matter what. Large chunks of games are just guys going through the motions now. Massively disappointing season,” Spotrac’s Keith Smith critiqued Orlando.
It’s all gone sideways for the Magic this season. It’s not just tonight, but they regularly look like five guys wearing the same jersey vs being a team.
They used to play hard, no matter what. Large chunks of games are just guys going through the motions now. Massively…
— Keith Smith (@KeithSmithNBA) April 13, 2026
With the East playoff picture finalized, multiple teams could now have Garza or the Magic to thank or take issue with, depending on how their first-round series play out.
