It wasn't pretty basketball for the better part of 48 minutes but the undermanned Celtics managed to shut down a horrific Magic team for three quarters and cruise to a 92-83 win on Friday night. The visitors overcame an ugly offensive outing (37 percent shooting, 18 turnovers) thanks to their defense. They held the hosts to 52 points over the first three periods, which turned the fourth quarter into 12 minutes of garbage time, allowing the final deficit to be much closer than most of the game was.
Terry Rozier (17 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists) paced the C's and Al Horford (15 points, 9 rebounds) found some offensive rhythm as the game got going. More importantly, the C's defense locked down a shorthanded Orlando offense on the perimeter (17 percent shooting from 3-point range). Greg Monroe also chipped in with 17 points off the pine, while Abdel Nader was one of the few Celtics that played well in the fourth quarter (career-high 11 points) to ensure that this game got no closer than it did.
GAME: No. 69 of 82
WHO: Celtics (46-22) vs. Magic (21-48)
WHEN: 7:00 p.m.
WHERE: Amway Center
RADIO: 98.5 The Sports Hub
TV: NBC SPORTS BOSTON
BOX SCORE: NBA.COM
Celtics
PG: Terry Rozier
SG: Jayson Tatum
SF: Marcus Morris
PF: Al Horford
C: Aron Baynes
Magic
PG: DJ Augustin
SG: Mario Hezonja
F: Jonathan Simmons
F: Jonathan Isaac
C: Nikola Vucevic
First Half Notes
- This game looked more like an ugly NCAA Tournament game rather than an NBA game over most of the first 24 minutes. Lots of missed open jumpers by both squads and all-around sloppy offensive play.
- Luckily for the C's, their defense was looked in early. For second straight game, C's had a slower wing to hide Tatum on in the starting five (Hezonja) and with Horford back on floor, the starters prevented Orlando from penetrating the paint.
- While no one in the starting five was shooting well, they were crashing the glass especially hard that produced plenty of points. The starters grabbed 10 of Boston's 13 offensive rebounds before the break and that helped produced 13 second chance points. None of the starters shot above 40 percent from the field.
- The Magic, meanwhile, couldn't get anything going on offense (32 percent shooting) and showed no resolve on the offensive glass (three offensive boards).
- In an encouraging sign, the Celtics' reserves (plus Marcus Morris) managed to hold their own against the Magic despite diving down deep into the depth chart. Larkin (10 first half points) was a nice source of energy for the second straight game, while Greg Monroe attacked well in the paint against Biyombo.
- Abdel Nader knocked down a corner 3 but he continues to dribble into trouble around the basket.
- Al Horford will make his return to the lineup after missing the last two games due to illness. Kyrie Irving will sit out his second straight game due to knee soreness but traveled with the team to Orlando. Marcus Smart (thumb) and Daniel Theis (knee) are both out for the remainder of the regular season after undergoing surgery in the past few days on their respective injuries.
- Aaron Gordon is a gametime decision for the Magic as he attempts to complete the final step of the NBA's recovery from concussion protocol. Jaylen Brown is still with Boston as begins the recovery process from his own concussion suffered last Thursday in Minnesota.
- The Magic have lost 12 of their last 15 games and are just 2.5 games behind the Grizzlies for the worst record in the NBA.
- Evan Fournier is out with a sprained MCL for the Magic.