“Accio,” Orlando Magic. Where are you?
They technically were at TD Garden on Friday, but we wouldn’t really say they showed up. Instead, the Boston Celtics blew them out in a dominant 128-98 victory.
Six Celtics reached double-figures, including Isaiah Thomas, who led the way with 21 points and eight assists. Jaylen Brown (20 points, eight rebounds), Jae Crowder (19 points, six rebounds), Kelly Olynyk (16 points, five rebounds), Tyler Zeller (10 points) and Amir Johnson (10 points) also posted double-digit point totals. The C’s also held sizable advantages in rebounds (47-37) and assists (39-28).
Nikola Vucevic and Damjan Rudez led the Magic with 14 points.
With the win, Boston improved to 28-18, while Orlando dropped to 18-30.
Here’s how it all went down.
STARTING FIVE
Isaiah Thomas, Jaylen Brown, Jae Crowder, Jonas Jerebko, Amir Johnson.
HOT START
After a back-and-forth start, the Celtics started to pull away from the Magic with around 4:15 remaining in the first quarter, when Brown hit a 3-pointer to start a 16-4 C’s run. Boston shot 71.4 percent from the floor, and Brown led the way with 11 points in the opening frame.
Boston then turned a 39-24 lead after one quarter into a 68-48Â advantage at the break. Brown (13 points, five rebounds), Olynyk (12 points, five rebounds), Thomas (11 points, five assists), Crowder (10 points) and Zeller (10 points) led the way offensively for the C’s in the first half. Boston shot 60 percent from the floor in the opening 24 minutes and enjoyed a 25-16 advantage in rebounds.
COASTING TO WIN
If you thought that was a big lead, wait until you see what the Celtics did in the third quarter. The C’s outscored the Magic 36-17 in the frame and built a massive 104-65 advantage heading into the fourth quarter. After an Elfrid Payton layup at the 6:03 mark made it 83-61 C’s, the Celtics went on a ridiculous 21-4 run to close the third.
By that point, all the Celtics had to do to clinch the win was, well, nothing, because they had the game in hand, and then some.
INJURY UPDATES
The Celtics were without both Al Horford and Avery Bradley for Friday night’s game.
Horford suffered a groin injury Wednesday night against the Houston Rockets, and head coach Brad Stevens provided an update on his situation prior to Friday’s game, via ESPN’s Chris Forsberg.
The situation has been a bit more serious with Bradley, who’s only played one game since Jan. 6. due to an Achilles injury.
“But he’s close,” Stevens said, via MassLive.com’s Jay King. “He’s feeling a lot better. It’s just a matter of getting a chance to get on the court a little bit, practice, or do a couple of hard workouts before he gets back to play. Ultimately, that’ll be his call, along with (trainer) Eddie (Lacerte) and our medical staff.”
PLAY OF THE GAME
This certainly looked impressive from Terry Rozier:
UP NEXT
The Celtics will be back in action Saturday night in Milwaukee, where they’ll face the struggling Bucks at BMO Harris Bradley Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 8 p.m. ET.
Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images
