ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Magic wanted to turn their first-round playoff series against the supremely talented Boston Celtics into a drag-out slugfest.

On Friday, they landed their first punch.

After taking Games 1 and 2 at TD Garden, Boston succumbed to Orlando’s physicality in Game 3, losing 95-93 at the Kia Center. Game 4 is Sunday night.

The No. 2 seed Celtics erased a 12-point fourth-quarter deficit but faded in the final minutes. Franz Wagner drove past Kristaps Porzingis — who struggled throughout the game after starring in Game 2 — on back-to-back possessions to score the decisive points for the seventh-seeded Magic.

Joe Mazzulla’s club could not overcome its 19 turnovers, one shy of Boston’s season high. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 36 and 19 points, respectively, after being listed as questionable for the game with injuries, but they also turned the ball over a combined 13 times.

Derrick White added 16 points, including two late-game layups to keep the Celtics’ in contention, but Boston got little from the rest of its supporting cast. No other Celtic scored more than seven points in the loss.

Wagner and Paolo Banchero combined for 61 points for the Magic. They also did not need to deal with the hounding defense of Celtics guard Jrue Holiday, who missed the game with a hamstring strain.

It was Boston’s fifth consecutive loss in Orlando, a streak that dates back to October 2022. The Celtics are 0-3 in the Magic’s home arena this season.

Playing with tape around his wrist and thumb on his shooting hand, Tatum looked unbothered by the bone bruise that caused him to miss the first playoff game of his eight-year NBA career.

A minute after tipoff, Tatum dove on the floor after a Kentavious Caldwell-Pope stumble to force a jump ball, won possession and drove through center Wendell Carter Jr. for a layup. He hit two more shots over 6-foot-10 Carter later in the first quarter – a 3-pointer and a foul-line jumper – and celebrated the second with a “too small” gesture.

Tatum also bullied his way through Magic guard Cole Anthony on a first-quarter layup and leaped to his feet instantly after being knocked to the floor by a Caldwell-Pope foul (a less forceful version of the takedown that caused Tatum’s injury in Game 1). He totaled 13 points in the opening frame.

The final five minutes of that quarter, however, belonged to Orlando. The Magic staged a 12-0 run while forcing a succession of Celtics mistakes, including an intercepted inbounds pass out of a timeout that led to an easy layup for Anthony Black. Payton Pritchard turned the ball over twice during that stretch — and was called for a clear-path foul after one giveaway – and Tatum had his pocket picked, too.

Orlando also capitalized on two defensive breakdowns under the Celtics’ basket, resulting in wide-open makes at the rim, and held Boston without a field goal for more than four straight minutes. The Celtics trailed 31-27 after one.

Early in the second, Brown suffered an injury scare unrelated to his lingering knee issue. While he was attempting to pull up for a jumper, Anthony yanked him down by his right elbow, causing Brown to land on his right hand/wrist. Anthony was called for a flagrant foul – Orlando’s third of the series – and Brown was in visible pain while the teams waited for play to resume. He remained in the game, though, and helped fuel what turned into a dominant second quarter for Boston.

White kick-started the rally with a 3-pointer that put the Celtics back ahead, then drew a charge on Banchero to put the Magic star in early foul trouble.

Down 44-42 with five minutes to play in the half, Tatum hit a 3, then a pull-up baseline jumper, then another 3, scoring eight points in a three-possession span as Boston seized control. At the other end, the Celtics held the Magic to five points in the final six minutes of the first half, three of which came on a Caleb Houstan corner make with 21 seconds remaining. Brown responded with a triple of his own, and Boston took a 59-49 lead into the locker room.

Backup center Luke Kornet also contributed to that Celtics surge with two steals, three offensive rebounds and six points in the first half – including a loud putback dunk off a Tatum miss – before becoming the latest victim of Orlando’s physicality when he absorbed a shot to the face that left him with a bloody nose.

But Boston’s lead didn’t last. The Celtics’ ball security issues resurfaced in the third quarter, and their shooters went cold. The Magic opened the second half with a 20-4 run to go ahead 69-63.

A White layup stopped the bleeding, and Tatum added three free throws after being fouled by Carter on a 3-pointer. A key play then went in Boston’s favor late in the third, as a third-chance 3 by Anthony was wiped away because he stepped out of bounds before the shot. The Celtics shot a woeful 3 for 16 in the third quarter but were within a basket entering the fourth, trailing 73-70.

The Magic threatened to put the game away by building a 12-point cushion with seven minutes to play, but the Celtics again rallied, getting an and-one jumper from Brown and an Al Horford 3-pointer to cut the deficit to six. An and-one layup by Tatum made it a three-point game with 5:52 remaining.

Orlando led by six when Banchero threw Boston another lifeline, shoving his forearm into Tatum’s midsection on a missed 3-point attempt. Tatum sank all three foul shots, making it 91-88 Magic with 3:47 left. Another Tatum free throw after a Porzingis rebound cut it to two. White tied the game with a driving layup.

But Wagner’s consecutive drives past Porzingis put Orlando ahead for good.

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