5 takeaways as Jaylen Brown’s shooting helps Celtics break losing streak vs. Magic
Brown buried 10 3-pointers as the Celtics pulled away.
Related Links
-
BRAD STEVENS
Brad Stevens says Celtics need to ‘play like a Boston Celtics team should’ to get back on track
-
BRAD STEVENS
A shrine beckoning Brad Stevens to Indiana University emerged outside Assembly Hall
-
NCAA TOURNAMENT
NCAA apologizes for glaring disparity between men’s and women’s weight rooms at tournaments
-
BRAD STEVENS
Brad Stevens pleads for Celtics to be ‘more engaged in each other’ following loss to Kings
COMMENTARY
The Boston Celtics took down the Orlando Magic on Sunday, claiming a 112-96 victory.
Here’s what happened.
The big picture
The Celtics took a big lead into the fourth quarter and weathered a late push, pulling away for a blowout victory over the Orlando Magic, making 23 of their 40 field goals from 3-point range. The win broke a three-game losing streak and gave the Celtics a much-needed respite from the (earned) negativity swirling around the team.
Star of the game
Jaylen Brown — 34 points, 12-for-24, 10-for-18 from 3, 4 rebounds, 3 assists
Brown was excellent behind the 3-point line, making shots from deep in a variety of ways. For stretches this season, he has been one of the best mid-range shooters in the league and one of the Celtics’ best attackers out of the pick-and-roll. When he gets going from deep, he’s dangerous.
What it means
Saying the Celtics “desperately needed a win” is a massive understatement. The Celtics need a run of wins, a big boost of confidence, and maybe a move or two at the deadline. One win against a struggling Orlando team won’t turn the tide of the season.
Still, winning streaks and confidence have to start somewhere, and Sunday’s victory is as good a place as any to build a little momentum.
Takeaways
1. Brown led the Celtics in scoring and buried a ton of triples, but more importantly, he gave the Celtics a boost of offense at exactly the right time. When Orlando made a push in the fourth quarter (more on that in a minute), Brown buried two big triples that pushed the lead back out again. In the first half, Brown’s hot shooting pushed the lead out significantly.
Brown was just one 3-pointer shy of the team’s single-game record for 3-pointers made. The record holder? His teammate Marcus Smart.
“If he would have told me that, I would have shot two or three more,” Brown said. “I had lost count at a certain point. I wish somebody did tell me that. I would have fired up at least five or six more to make sure I beat Marcus.”
2. The Celtics nearly dropped the ball again. In the fourth quarter, they watched a 21-point lead dwindle to eight when Evan Fournier hit a jumper with his foot on the line. The Celtics went icy cold, and Orlando seemed to find some rhythm. A familiar story appeared to be playing out.
The Celtics, however, got a bit of a break. They turned the ball over, and Fournier ran up the floor with a chance to cut the lead to six.
Instead, Fournier pulled a tough triple and missed. On the other end, the Celtics got a mid-range jumper from Daniel Theis. On the next possession, Fournier missed another 3, and the Celtics got two free throws. Brown buried a triple, and the game was back under control.
“We’ve been in a little bit of a funk,” Brown said. “To come in here early, early game, a little bit different from our routine, and to come in and get a nice comfortable win, it’s just good for our spirits. So we know that we’ve underperformed. And we’ve kind of had that extra pressure on us from everybody, all the outside forces. So I just told our guys to focus on us and forget about what the media’s saying, forget about what the fans are saying, and just come out and just play some good basketball, let’s see where the chips fall. Hopefully we can do that a lot more — a lot more — for the rest of the season.”
3. In the first half, Orlando insisted on defending Jayson Tatum in drop coverage around the pick-and-roll — sending their bigs back into the paint to contain his drives and leaving Tatum’s defender (often Aaron Gordon) on an island. That strategy is intended to hide slow-footed big defenders who can’t contain perimeter players.
Tatum, however, is not a player teams can defend with drop pick-and-roll coverages. He punished Orlando with a flurry of triples that helped build a double-digit lead.
4. The Celtics’ bench scored just 17 points, several of which came in garbage time. Almost all of the offensive work was done by the starters — most notably Brown, with some help from Tatum.
Wins are encouraging, but Sunday’s victory did little to dispel some of the Celtics’ biggest concerns — most notably depth. Jaylen Brown is a deserving All-Star, but he can’t be expected to shoot 10-for-18 from 3-point range every night.
5. The last two games were opportunities to see multiple potential trade targets at the looming deadline. In Friday’s loss, the Celtics took on Harrison Barnes — one of the most popular names. On Sunday, they faced Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic, both of whom have reportedly drawn some interest.
The results were fairly mixed. Gordon fits the Celtics’ timeline, but his game might not be a perfect fit. Vucevic was relatively quiet. Barnes was solid, but Sacramento will have a lot of suitors if he’s available. What happens at the deadline will be fascinating to watch.
Get Boston.com's browser alerts:
Enable breaking news notifications straight to your internet browser.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com