BSJ Game Report: Celtics 114, Magic 97 - Jaylen Brown, Celtics defense, shine to end perfect homestand

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Magic with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics started slow once again, but cut a 10-point lead down to two. But Paolo Banchero’s 19 first-quarter points held Boston off. The Celtics turned it around as some shots started to fall, then Jaylen Brown keyed a big run to build a 15-point lead that settled at 11 at the half. The Celtics lost a back-and-forth third quarter by just two points before Brown took over again with a scorching 15-point stretch to put the Magic away.  

Box Score

HEADLINES

- Jaylen Brown’s best game: Obviously this will be expanded on separately, but wow what a night for Brown in different spots than usual. With Jayson Tatum not his usual self, Brown took over in the second and fourth quarters to turn the game around and then salt it away.

- Perfect at home: I thought for sure there would be at least one split in this weird pair of two-game series, but the Celtics continue to protect home court. They were perfect in this five-game homestand, they held off some strong challenges, and they ended up blowing out Orlando twice. 

“Knowing that we lost (in Orlando), it’s going to give us extra energy, extra motivation and for a visiting team to come in this building and beat us, it has to be a special night for them,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “We truly believe that and we want to protect the home court and we did that tonight.”

- Defense: After giving up a 31-point quarter, Boston allowed 19, 24, and 23. Porzingis wasn’t lying when he said “once we lock in defensively, you can see glimpses of really, really high-level basketball." When the Celtics defense is clicking, watch out.

TURNING POINT

Jayson Tatum picked up his third foul with 8:07 to go in the second quarter and Boston up 37-34. Instead of struggling, the Celtics took off, going on a 24-12 run to open up a 15 point lead. The Celtics were in control after that. 

We can toss in that quick 8-0 run that turned a tight, nine-point game into a 17-point game in the fourth quarter as the final knockout blow. Brown was the catalyst for both.

THINGS I LIKED

- Sticking with it: Once again, the Celtics started slow and it looked like Banchero was going to have a historic night. But once again, the Celtics settled down to take the lead in fairly short order. And they did it once again in the third quarter but followed it up with a monster fourth. 

“We kind of lost our poise on the offensive end, and that's going to happen from time to time, especially [against] as good of a team as Orlando,” Joe Mazzulla said. “But it didn't affect our half-court defense, and we were able to snap back and get back to our offensive execution. So I think the key is just not living in those bad spaces for too long, knowing that you're not going to avoid them, but you just can't stay there as long, and you’ve got to get out of them quickly, and so the guys do a good job of doing that.”

- Coaching:  I’ve taken my fair share of crap for insisting Mazzulla knows what he’s doing, but I think it’s getting clear that he’s playing a role in this team’s success. The guys have bought into what he’s trying to do and we’re seeing it. Brown is playing differently because that's what the team needs. The Celtics are moving the ball and playing faster. They are not getting bogged down in their own mistakes. 

And then little things like Mazzulla going to his full starting unit a little earlier than usual in the fourth quarter and it paying immediate dividends that turned the game into a blowout.

This team is figuring a lot of things out, and the coaching is part of it. 

- The fourth-quarter defense: Stifling. Al Horford anchored a lot of it, just shutting down everything the Magic tried at the rim. For a team with Orlando’s size, Boston managed to win the points in the paint and second-chance points battles. There's a reason Horford was a team-high +19 while only scoring eight points. 

- Jaylen Brown handling this double team in the pick-and-roll: 

via GIPHY

He very calmly invited both Magic players to keep following him out to half court so he could get Sam Hauser the space to make a play. This is such great recognition and progression as a pick-and-roll ballhandler. I don’t think I’ve ever seen him do this. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE

Slow start: I’m seriously nitpicking here, but obviously you want to start better than that. It’s not alway going to happen, and I was impressed by how they recovered. 

Forcing turnovers: Forcing only nine wasn’t great, especially after forcing so many in the last game. Again, picking nits because the overall defense was fantastic and who cares if the stops are blocks, rebounds, or steals, right? But it’s a category Boston wants to win, and they didn’t. 

HIGHLIGHTS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

This is a really tough stretch of the schedule … and Boston is crushing it so far: Three games in four nights, then a short turnaround for a Sunday afternoon game, and then heading out west for a back-to-back. We’ve yet to see how the fifth and sixth game in the six-in-nine stretch will go, but it’s been great so far. 

“What we did this week was impressive, I feel like,” Tatum said. “I'm not certain that last year, we would have won all these games. But playing two really good teams that present different challenges; teams that, especially Orlando, we struggled with in the past. Especially Friday, we had three bigs out and the way that we played in that game, we figured out a way to win. Winning these four games at home, I don't know what everybody else thought, but it was impressive and I was proud of the way we played.”

This is one of those moments that I think Tatum gets to crow a little bit because he’s right, and it’s okay to be proud of how they're playing. In fact, this is how you establish these good habits. 

They played great on both ends of the floor, they’ve been moving the ball well, and they're starting to play faster. If you’re ever going to praise someone’s play, it’s when they’ve done things right. 

“I think we're starting to play what I would call Celtic basketball,” Mazzulla said. “From a mentality standpoint, from a toughness standpoint, from a defensive standpoint, and identity, reflecting what it means to play like the Celtics, I think this week we've shown that, and I think the crowd has helped that, and I think our players really working to execute and buying in have helped that.”

I know how Celtics fans are right now. I know there's a feeling of trepidation even with all this success. Boston is 20-5 right now and coming off a perfect homestand and looking great, but there's still a little feeling somewhere in the pit of your stomach because they were 21-5 last season when they went on the road to face Golden State. 

I get it. You’re not wrong to have that annoying voice in your head wondering how legit all this is. 

All I can say is this year feels different. And here’s my one stat to prove it: 

Boston was shooting 40% from 3 in their 26 games heading into Golden State last season, best in the NBA. This year they're at 37.2%, basically the middle of the pack. 

They're not winning with their shooting this time. They're winning by playing basketball. They're winning by defending. It just feels different. 

“Some things you just know,” Tatum said. “I've been on enough teams and we was 20-5 at this point last year. So it's not like we weren't good. But I think there's just certain moments throughout the season. We just had two playoff series, kind of, and I think the way we just responded from game to game. We played four games in six days and to win how we did it, I feel like it was impressive.”

I don’t know what’s next for this team, but it definitely doesn’t feel like last season. This feels sustainable. Maybe they’ll still lose to Golden State and there will have to be some talking off ledges, but I feel really good about saying this team is not the same anymore. 

Next up: The Celtics start a four-game west coast swing on Tuesday night at Golden State