Everything you need to know about the Celtics' 116-100 win over the Magic with BSJ insight and analysis
HEADLINES
Wings carry Celtics to shorthanded win: The Celtics played without three of their top six players (Marcus Smart, Kemba Walker, Daniel Theis) but their firepower on the wings proved to be more than enough to carry them to their fifth straight victory. Jayson Tatum finished with a game-high 33 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists while Gordon Hayward chipped in with 21 of his 23 points in the second half along with 7, rebounds and 7 assists to carry the hosts to the double-digit win. Jaylen Brown added 18 points before leaving the game with a sprained ankle in the final minute that wasn’t deemed serious postgame. Boston has now won eight of nine overall heading into the trade deadline on Thursday.
Romeo Langford earns surprise start and holds his own: The rookie had not played meaningful minutes in nearly a month but Brad Stevens turned to him as a starting wing in this one with his starting backcourt sidelined. Langford did not try to do much on the offensive end (2-of-2 from the field) but he continued to show some nice flashes with his defense, including a tough swat of Evan Fournier on a drive and taking a charge under the basket in the second half. Some of this promise makes me wonder why he hasn’t gotten more opportunities in the past month with so many injuries piling up but it would seem foolish to sell low on the 19-year-old at the trade deadline unless it’s for a big splash.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics broke the game open midway through the fourth quarter with a 7-0 lead to push the lead out to 10, which was capped by a monster dunk from Jaylen Brown on the break. Orlando couldn’t get closer than two possessions the rest of the way.
TWO UP
Jayson Tatum: The All-Star scored a game-high 17 points in the first half on 6-of-14 shooting from the field on his way to a 33-point night. He now has scored 20 points or more in seven consecutive games and is averaging 26.0 ppg on 48 percent shooting during that stretch.
Gordon Hayward: The swingman scored 12 of his 23 points in the third quarter alone while also contributing four rebounds and three assists over the 12 minutes.
ONE DOWN
Celtics perimeter defense: Orlando is just the 28th ranked team in the NBA in 3-point shooting (33.5 percent) but they still managed to knock down 50 percent of their 3-point shots in the first half on 6-of-12 shooting and allowing 41 percent shooting for the night.
TOP PLAY
JB with the tomahawk jam in tonight’s @JetBlue Play of the Game! pic.twitter.com/2LvNHUlI6g
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) February 6, 2020
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
The race for the second seed is getting absurd: When all is said and done in the regular season, the second-best team in the Eastern Conference may end up having the second-best record in the NBA. The Raptors won their 12th straight game on Wednesday night despite having to deal with a multitude of injuries all year long and the Celtics have managed to remain within striking distance the entire way with five straight wins and eight of nine overall. With both of those squads in position to make additions at the trade deadline and the Heat preparing to add potentially both Andre Iguodala and Danilo Gallinari to a team that is loaded with wings, it’s going to be a fight to the finish amid the top three teams behind the Bucks. The chance to face a sub .500 Magic or Nets team in the first round and enjoy home court for two rounds before a battle with the Bucks will keep the focus high for every night for Boston, Miami and Toronto throughout the final two months of the season.
Danny Ainge owes it to this team to add some help at trade deadline: The Celtics really couldn’t go into the All-Star Break on a higher note despite all the injuries that have piled up in recent weeks. This has been a different team since the blowout win over the Lakers last month, having won eight of nine overall in dominant fashion. They have four players doing things at an All-Star level when healthy over the past few weeks and have some nice complementary pieces to go with them in Marcus Smart, Enes Kanter and Daniel Theis. The fringe bench players are playing well too (Grant Williams, Semi Ojeleye, Brad Wanamaker) but some additional depth from a shooting standpoint is going to be needed particularly with other contenders in the East adding firepower. This team at its best has the chemistry and balance to play with everyone and it’s now on Ainge to find the right surrounding parts so this core doesn’t get overworked while playing for the No. 2 seed in the regular season.