Celtics

Jaylen Brown’s big 4th quarter carries Celtics to 114-97 win over Magic for 14-0 start at home

By KEN POWTAK, Associated Press

December 17, 2023

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BOSTON (AP) — Jaylen Brown scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter to lead Boston to a 114-97 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday that improved the Celtics’ NBA-best home record to 14-0.

It’s the Celtics’ second-best start at home, behind the 1957-58 club led by Bill Russell that opened with 17 straight wins the fall after capturing the first of its 17 NBA titles.

Jayson Tatum added 23 points, Kristaps Porzingis had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 14 points for Boston, which completed a sweep of consecutive games at TD Garden against the Magic for its fifth straight win overall.

Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 36 points and 10 rebounds. Jalen Suggs added 13 points for the Magic, who shot just 38.2%.

Porzingis and Al Horford returned to Boston’s lineup after missing Friday’s 17-point victory. Porzingis was sidelined with a calf injury and the 37-year-old Horford for rest after playing a game the night earlier.

The Celtics led by nine entering the final quarter and Brown scored 10 of their initial 12 points to help them keep their distance. He did it from different areas of the floor, connecting on a 3-pointer from both the top of the key and right corner to go along with left baseline and foul-line jumpers.

He added a transition 3 that gave Boston a 103-86 edge with 6:25 to play and closed his big final quarter with a fadeaway from the right wing.

Tatum picked up his third foul midway into the second quarter when Magic coach Jamahl Mosley challenged a blocking call against Franz Wagner, but that didn’t hurt the Celtics’ offense.

The Celtics just went on a run with Tatum on the end of the bench.

The teams were tied at 41 after Banchero’s jumper with 5:48 left in the half before Brown scored nine points during a 20-5 surge over a stretch of nearly five minutes that pushed the Celtics to a 61-50 halftime edge.

The Magic tried playing some zone defense during the stretch, it just didn’t slow down Boston’s spurt.

UP NEXT

Magic: Host the Heat on Wednesday night.

Celtics: At the Warriors on Tuesday, the first of four straight on the West Coast.