Jaylen Brown made a bold statement following the Boston Celtics’ first of two wins over the Orlando Magic, a 128-111 victory. The All-NBA Second-Team guard called his team’s performance the “biggest game of the year.”
“I think this was the biggest game of the year so far,” Brown said in a statement. “We had a bunch of guys out and on a back-to-back against a team that’s been kicking our ass the last four or five times we’ve played.”
Boston had lost four straight games to Orlando dating back to December of last year entering the first game. With Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet all out, the Celtics relied on Lamar Stevens and Neemias Queta as their primary center options. Jayson Tatum also contributed some small ball five for the Celtics as they cruised to yet another decisive victory at the Garden.
Brown praised the team for its tenacity in answering all of Orlando’s questions throughout the game.
“The first shot they took was a three,” Brown remarked. “It was a tough hit on the left wing by Suggs.” He was well-defended, but he won. That can be discouraging at times… We took those punches and continued to throw punches back. That is what we hope to instill in our men. We fight, we make it difficult for you, and we play the game correctly.”
Tatum demonstrated his superstar status by scoring 30 points on 11/22 shooting. Meanwhile, Brown contributed 18 points and had a team-high plus-minus of +20. Derrick White added 19 points, eight assists, and four steals to his stellar season.
Boston’s bench mob balled out behind a Payton Pritchard masterclass on the night they needed to step up. Pritchard scorched the Magic for 21 points on 6/7 three-point shooting in his best game of the season. The obnoxious point guard also made five assists.
Sam Hauser’s automatic shooting continued with three 3-pointers in six attempts. He also had seven rebounds and four steals on the night. This season, Hauser has a top-ten 3-point percentage of 45.8% from beyond the arc. On six attempts, the former Virginia standout has a career-high 2.8 three-pointers per game. Oshae Brissett shot 4-4 on his way to 11 points in just over 15 minutes. Queta finished with three blocks and a +13 rating in 18 minutes for the reserves.
The Celtics won 114-97 over the Magic on Sunday, following up on what Brown called a pivotal game. Brown set the tone this time, scoring a team-high 31 points, 17 of which came in the fourth quarter, while shooting 12-20 from the field and 5-8 from beyond the arc overall.
“When my 3-ball is going in, I don’t think there’s anybody, anything anybody can do,” he said. “I’m going to be aggressive when it comes to getting to the basket, which everyone knows I want to do.” It’s difficult to guard me when that 3-ball is flying in at such a high rate.”
After sweeping the two-game mini-series against the Magic, the Celtics are now 20-5 on the season, with a stunning 14-0 home record. Brown had a big game, but Tatum also had 23 points and Porzingis had 15 points and 10 rebounds. Jrue Holiday chipped in with 14 points. However, it was the team’s defensive execution that prompted coach Joe Mazulla to refer to the team’s play as “Celtic basketball.”
“I think we’re starting to play what I would call Celtic basketball,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla. “From a mentality standpoint, from a toughness standpoint, from defensive standpoint and identity.”
The Celtics will look to build on their recent success when they kick off a four-game West Coast road trip on Tuesday against the Golden State Warriors.
