Magic clinch 7th spot in Eastern Conference with 96-76 win over depleted Celtics

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Franz Wagner scored 23 points, Cole Anthony came off the bench with 18 points and the Orlando Magic beat the Boston Celtics 96-76 on Wednesday night to clinch seventh place in the Eastern Conference and the top spot in the play-in tournament.

Baylor Scheierman and Payton Pritchard scored 15 points each to lead the Celtics, who did not use their top six players and made 7 of 40 3-point shots.

Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Kristaps Porzingis, Derrick White, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford did not play for the Celtics.

Paolo Banchero had 15 points and six assists for the Magic. It was Wagner's 12th straight game of scoring 20 or more points.

Celtics: Are locked into the No. 2 spot in the Eastern Conference playoffs and played a day after an overtime win against New York. The 76 points was a season-low for Boston, well under the previous low of 92 points they scored at Oklahoma City on Jan. 5.

Magic: Winning for the eighth time in 10 games, the Magic qualified for a home game in the first round of the play-in tournament against an opponent to be determined. A win in that game would earn the seventh seed in the playoffs and a first-round series against the Celtics. The Magic also clinched the Southeast Division. Guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope did not play in the second half due to a sore left knee.

Wagner, Gary Harris and Caleb Houstan hit 3-pointers and Banchero scored six points on a 20-4 third-quarter run that turned an eight-point Orlando lead into a 24-point lead.

The Celtics finished the season 33-8 on the road, with two of the losses coming in Orlando. Tatum missed both games.

Celtics: Play at home against Charlotte on Friday night.

Magic: Play at Indiana on Friday night.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Orlando Magic center Goga Bitadze (35) and guard Cole Anthony, left, celebrate after basket while playing the Boston Celtics during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

Orlando Magic guard Cory Joseph (10) defends Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) as he brings the ball into the lane during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

Boston Celtics center Neemias Queta (88) dunks the ball over Orlando Magic players during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) drives against Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, left, during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) fights through the screen by Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet, left, as he guards Boston Celtics guard Payton Pritchard (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, left, passes the ball around Boston Celtics forward Torrey Craig (12) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Wednesday, April 9, 2025, in Orlando, Fla. (AP Photo/Kevin Kolczynski)

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.

The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.

The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.

The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”

The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.

Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.

The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.

On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.

Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.

“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”

Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.

Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.

“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.

Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)