Celtics Wrap: Jaylen Brown, Three-Point Barrage Lead Way Vs. Magic

Jaylen Brown and the Boston Celtics had their best shooting touch Sunday afternoon against the Orlando Magic, and it helped the hosts pull out a much-needed 112-96 victory at TD Garden.

Most notably, the Celtics hit 23 of their 54 3-point attempts. Boston’s previous record was 24. And while that was impressive, equally as impressive was the team’s ball movement as Boston assisted on 27 of its 40 made field goals.

Brown scored a game-high 34 points on 50% from the field (12-for-24), including a noteworthy 10-for-18 from long range. Brown’s 10 3-pointers were just one shy of the team’s individual record previously set by teammate Marcus Smart.

Jayson Tatum scored 23 points on 7-for-13 from the floor after hitting all five of his seven 3-pointers in the first half. All five Celtics starters — Kemba Walker (14), Daniel Theis (13), Marcus Smart (11), Brown and Tatum — finished with double figures.

Boston moves back to .500 with a 21-21 overall record while the Magic, who entered Sunday after having lost nine of their last 10, fell to 14-28 on the season.

Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE
PG: Kemba Walker
SG: Marcus Smart
SF: Jaylen Brown
PF: Jayson Tatum
C: Daniel Theis

TRAILING AFTER ONE
The Magic hit six of their 11 3-point attempts during the first quarter and it allowed them to take a 31-27 lead after the opening quarter.

Tatum, meanwhile, led all scorers with 11 points on three 3-pointers. He was an efficient 4-for-5 from the floor while the Celtics shot 46% from long range (6-for-13) but just 39% from the field (9-for-23).

Boston was sharing the ball well, though, assisting on seven of their nine field goals.

Brown chipped in eight points while Smart scored six of his own.

Orlando big man Nikola Vucevic nearly tallied a double-double in nine minutes with 10 points and seven rebounds. The Magic shot 44% from the field (10-for-23) and did not have a single turnover.

RAINING J’S
Tatum (5-for-7) and Brown (4-for-7) combine to hit nine 3-pointers in the first half as the Celtics shot 44% from long range and used both that and an uptick in ball pressure to take a 56-48 lead into the intermission.

Tatum led the way with 19 first-half points on 6-of-9 from the field while Brown added 14 points on 5-of-12 from the floor.

Boston, before closing the quarter on a run, was able to keep the game close by hitting some tough shots while the Magic benefitted from some easy ones. The C’s took a 43-42 lead midway through the quarter on a Brown 3-pointer.

Vucevic was held to just two points with one rebound in the second quarter. The Magic were 0-for-5 from long range in the second while they finished the half shooting 39% from the field (16-for-41).

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FINALLY… BETTER BASKETBALL
The Celtics played with much more intensity on both ends in the third quarter, and it helped them take a 23-point lead with 3:30 left in the period before taking an 89-73 advantage into the fourth.

Of course, Boston’s 3-point barrage didn’t hurt either. The C’s went on what was an extended 27-12 run and hit five of their first eight shots from beyond the arc before concluding the third quarter 20-for-41 from long range.

But those plays were not to be overshadowed by the hustle plays, which have been few and far between lately. The C’s were flying around on defense, Grant Williams dove on a loose ball, and a Walker extra pass led to Aaron Nesmith knocking down a 3-pointer of his own.

Brown climbed his point total to 25 (7-for-12 from deep), while Tatum scored 19 points with 12 minutes left.

MORE TIMELY THREES
In typical 2021 Celtics fashion, the Magic cut their once 23-point deficit to just eight points with nine minutes remaining, but the Celtics responded. (Yes, again, that’s been rare lately.)

Brown’s eighth 3-pointer put the Celtics up 13 points with 7:30 left, his ninth extended Boston’s advantage to 16 points with six minutes remaining and his 10th gave the C’s a 17-point lead with five minutes left.

PLAY OF THE GAME
The day belonged Brown (and Tatum), but did you really expect to go without a Robert Williams highlight?

UP NEXT
The Celtics will set out on a four-game road trip starting with the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday. Tip-off is slated for 9 p.m. ET.