Jaylen Brown, Stellar Defense Lead Celtics Past Magic 116-83
ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and the Boston Celtics played solid defense in a 116-83 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night for their season-best fifth straight win.
Boston limited Orlando to 35.8% shooting from the floor and 5 of 25 from 3-point range. It was similar to their matchup in November when the Celtics beat the Magic by holding them to 79 points and 32.1% shooting — both season lows.
Dennis Schröder scored 23 points and hit four 3-pointers off Boston's bench, while Al Horford added 13 points and 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double. Jayson Tatum had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but he shot just 6 of 18. Brown, who scored a career-best 50 points in victory over Orlando last month, made 10 of 22 shots.
Rookie Jalen Suggs had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists for Orlando, which dropped to an NBA-worst 0-21 when it fails to score 100 points.
Boston never trailed Sunday and beat the Magic for a third time this season. The Celtics swept the season series for a third straight year to push its winning streak to nine over Orlando.
Wendall Carter Jr. scored 14 points for Orlando, which was playing less than 24 hours after getting routed 135-115 at home by Memphis. The Magic have followed up their only two-game home winning streak of the season with two straight losses.
Boston pushed its 10-point halftime lead to as much as 19 in the third quarter by smothering Orlando defensively. The Magic missed 18 of their 20 3-point attempts in the game's first three quarters against the Celtics' active defense.
Boston mostly struggled offensively in the early going, but it locked down the Magic on the other end and led 49-39 at the half. Orlando managed just 15 first-quarter points and shot a dismal 31.7% from the floor in the opening half.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Marcus Smart came into Sunday third in the NBA in steals at 1.87 a game, but his effectiveness as a defender extends beyond that area. He's also had 140 pass deflections — 64 more than his next closest teammate. He also leads the team in charges taken with seven. ... Boston missed its first six 3-point shots and 14 of the first 15 tries from beyond the arc. ... Tatum was held scoreless in the first quarter and his first points didn't come until the game was 15 minutes old.
Magic: Mo Bamba played despite spraining his right ankle again in Saturday's home loss to Memphis. The injury has bothered Bamba for the past three weeks. ... Rookie Franz Wagner is one of just 10 players in the NBA to appear in all of his team's games this season. Also, he is the only rookie to not miss a game. ... Orlando made just five of its first 21 shots and missed all four of its 3-point tries in the first quarter. ... The Magic's one 3-pointer in the first 24 minutes was a low for a first half this season.
UP NEXT
Celtics: Play at Brooklyn on Tuesday night.
Magic: Play at Portland on Tuesday night.
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