ORLANDO, Fla. — Victor Oladipo’s pride makes it difficult for him to come off the bench. If he keeps playing like this, though, he might have to get used to the role.

Oladipo scored 19 points and had eight rebounds and six assists in his third game as a reserve to help the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 110-91 on Sunday night.

Oladipo was the second pick in the 2013 draft and a starter for most of his three years in Orlando, but is averaging 20 points, six rebounds and 5.7 assists coming off the Magic bench. Orlando has won all three games, by an average of 17.3 points.

“I didn’t know what to expect and honestly, I didn’t care,” Oladipo said. “I had to be more aggressive. That’s when I’m at my best so this is something to build on.”

Tobias Harris had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic. Andrew Nicholson added 14 points and eight rebounds and Aaron Gordon had 12 points.

“We’re playing with a lot more energy, focusing on a lot of the little details, especially defensively,” Harris said. “We’re just letting our defense dictate our offense. I think that’s been the biggest difference.”

Advertisement

Boston Coach Brad Stevens was impressed. His team shot 40.9 percent from the field, but only 18.5 percent on 3-pointers. Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 20 points and seven assists. Avery Bradley had 17 points and Jae Crowder had 12.

GRIZZLIES 92, 76ERS 84: Zach Randolph had 17 points and 11 rebounds and host Memphis sent Philadelphia to its record-tying 18th straight loss to start the season.

The Sixers have lost an NBA-record 28 consecutive games dating to last season and at 0-18 matched the New Jersey Nets’ start in 2009-10.

Mike Conley led the Grizzlies with 20 points, while Matt Barnes and Jeff Green had 13 apiece as Memphis won for the seventh time in the last nine.

CLIPPERS 107, TIMBERWOLVES 99: Blake Griffin scored 12 of his 26 points in the final 6:32 to lead Los Angeles at home.

Griffin also had eight rebounds and seven assists, Chris Paul added 20 points and nine assists, and J.J. Redick added 18 points for the Clippers.

Advertisement

SUNS 107, RAPTORS 102: Eric Bledsoe had 20 points and 11 assists, Mirza Teletovic also had 20 points and Phoenix won at Toronto.

Teletovic was 6 of 7 from 3-point range, Brandon Knight and Jon Leuer each added 16 points for the Suns, and T.J. Warren had 15.

DeMar DeRozan matched a Toronto season high with 29 points.

HORNETS 87, BUCKS 82: Kemba Walker scored 22 points, and host Charlotte overcame the loss of center Al Jefferson to hold off Milwaukee.

NETS 87, PISTONS 83: Thaddeus Young had 19 points and 10 rebounds, Brook Lopez scored 15 points and Brooklyn won at home.

ROCKETS 116, KNICKS 111: Trevor Ariza hit the tiebreaking 3-pointer with 1:14 left in overtime and Marcus Thornton made two free throws with less than a second left as Houston won at New York.


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.