BOSTON — Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford returned to Boston’s lineup after a short-handed win on Friday allowed the Celtics to determine a distinct taking part in type. One which bothered a Magic group that beforehand performed them robust. They scored 18 quick break factors, generated 9 nook threes and performed small with Lamar Stevens at heart.
“Simply hold the muse the identical,” Joe Mazzulla stated pre-game. “Ball strain, bodily exercise and good shift exercise on the weak facet … getting out to shooters and defending with out fouling … I feel plenty of it has to do with the pace benefit we had getting out in transition. Additionally, creating the two-on-ones … I assumed we did a terrific job being intentional about our screening, which received guys off the physique, which pressured switched, pressured some over-helps and we had been capable of make the play there … the go, go occurs after we put two on the ball … a very powerful factor is we keep intentional about our screening … and the physicality that we now have.”
Boston returned to double-big appears to be like and did all that whereas sitting Stevens and Brissett, central to that very same effort. They performed Neemias Queta for 16 minutes whereas using Horford on the 4. The Celtics nonetheless received going away, 114-97, by grabbing 60 rebounds, creating 17 threes with their screening and switching their offensive facilitator from Jayson Tatum to Jaylen Brown to keep up the pace from Friday’s matchup.
Banchero scored 19 factors within the first quarter whereas Porzingis struggled to seek out his footing, lacking a pick-and-pop three and touring on a post-up throughout Boston’s first two possessions. The Celtics relied on put-backs, laying three misses again throughout an 8-for-22 begin from the sector. Boston went huge halfway by the quarter, Jaylen Brown and Derrick White maintaining tempo with Banchero. Horford grabbed the ball following Pritchard’s block on Franz Wagner and hit Jayson Tatum in stride for a layup, and Tatum’s pull-up three on the next possession allowed the Celtics to remain inside 31-27 by one quarter.
Tatum picked up a 3rd foul halfway by the second, forcing Brown to guide the second unit for the ultimate 8:07 after an 8-0 run by Tatum, Payton Pritchard and Jrue Vacation gave Boston its first lead. Neemias Queta started the quarter at heart after the Celtics closed with an extended Horford and Porzingis mixture, staying huge but taking part in with tempo to get Vacation a layup on the run from Brown passing back-and-forth.
Then, Brown went on to attain or help on practically each basket throughout a 14-4 run to take a 10-point lead. Anthony Black and Banchero had scored 5 straight to tie the sport at 39, and Vacation stopped it with a pull-up two round a Queta display screen. Brown pulled up and hit from mid-range, discovered Horford for 3 driving baseline, blew by Goga Bitadze and blocked him on the opposite finish after hitting a pull-up three. Porzingis missed his dump-off into an extended hook shot, however they linked two performs later within the pick-and-roll for a Porzingis slam.
Boston let Suggs in the reduction of door uncontested and Banchero reached 26 factors at halftime with a mid-range pull up, hitting 9-of-11, to maintain the Magic inside 11 after falling behind by 15. They minimize inside 4 whereas successful the third quarter, 24-22, with Suggs and Black steals resulting in vast open layups the opposite method. Bitadze’s steal taking part in up on Brown received Suggs two free throws earlier than Porzingis rocked the rim by chasing down White’s three try that he arrange with a handoff for a three-point put again. Tatum hit three free throws on a nook attempt to Pritchard crossed-up Cole Anthony and buried a 3 to regain a nine-point lead into the fourth.
Brown continued his finest recreation main the Celtics’ offense into the fourth, stepping round Queta’s display screen for a 3 after Jonathan Isaac minimize their result in six with a 3. He added a layup and fadeaway mid vary shot to remain forward whereas Orlando scored on its first three possessions. Then, he hit Sam Hauser on the roll for a hesitation end, discovered Tatum for a drive-and-kick three and hit two pull-up threes of his personal that despatched the Backyard right into a frenzy.
Tatum hit yet one more three off an in-bounds and received again on protection to dam Banchero, who completed as a extra modest 13-for-30 in opposition to Boston’s star wings who posted 54. They constructed a 21-point lead, skating previous a sluggish begin with a distinct play type.
“It’d look just a little bit totally different,” Mazzulla predicted. “Are you able to play totally different identities? There are pace challenges in transition, however there are additionally bodily challenges. I anticipate them to double down on their physicality … we now have to be able to reply that decision whether or not we’re small or huge.”
