Key moment
The undermanned Celtics closed the door on Orlando, and did so early.
Boston took down the Magic in a dominant third quarter that turned a 13-point halftime lead into 23 points heading into the fourth quarter. C is controlled…
The name of Boston’s game during the third quarter was balance. Eight of the nine Celtics players who spoke during the quarter scored at least two points, and three of them scored at least seven points. Derrick White led with eight goals, while Jayson Tatum and Payton Pritchard scored seven goals each.
The most significant surge of the quarter and of the night came midway through the third quarter. White sank two 3-pointers around another Lamar Stevens 3-pointer to turn a 12-point game into a 21-point game. Those three shots were taken within 71 seconds of each other.
The Celtics never allowed Orlando back into the game during the final period. Instead, Boston maintained its lead by at least 17 points through the final buzzer.
Major player
With Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, Luke Kornet and Dalano Banton sidelined on Friday night, the remaining Celtics reserves knew they would get more opportunities to play, and that the team needed them to provide high-level play. Payton Pritchard was ready for the call.
Pritchard came off Boston’s bench with an electric shooting performance that tied his season high with 21 points. He was brilliant from 3-point range all night, finishing with a 6-for-7 effort that included three threes during the first quarter, two during the third quarter, and one during the fourth quarter. Pritchard shot 7-for-10 overall during the game.
Pritchard also finished second on the team with five assists, all without committing a turnover. He rounded out his score in the box with three rebounds and a steal in just over 28 minutes of play.
Box score nuggets
- Jayson Tatum led the game with 30 points.
- Derrick White led the game with eight assists. He also scored 19 points.
- Goga Bitadze led the game in rebounds with 11 rebounds.
- Both teams scored 52 points in the paint.
- Boston’s substitutes scored 47 points, led by Payton Pritchard with 21 points, and Sam Hauser and Oshay Brissett with 11 points.
- The Celtics shot 52.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from 3-point range.
- Jalen Suggs led Orlando with 19 points.
- Jaylen Brown, who had 18 points, four assists, three rebounds and a blocked shot, led the game in plus/minus rating at plus-20.
- Sam Hauser wasn’t far behind, at plus-19.
- The Celtics beat Orlando 18-6 on fast break points.
- Boston led by as many as 25 points.
Night quotes
“I think it starts with the leadership of Derrick, Jrue, Jason and Jaylen. It starts with them and their approach to the game, and then I think it’s a real testament to Sam and Payton and Niemi (Nemias Queta) and Oshay and Sve and Lamar, which are the guys that work in this game every day, and they’re excited about the opportunity that they have.” “
Joe Mazzola of the Celtics is playing at such a high level while missing several key players
“Alcohol enthusiast. Twitter ninja. Tv lover. Falls down a lot. Hipster-friendly coffee geek.”