The Boston Celtics continue to struggle with consistency, almost falling to the Orlando Magic on Sunday after coming off their best win of the season over the Phoenix Suns.
Fortunately they got their acts together down the stretch in regulation for a 116-111 overtime win.
With the victory, the Celtics improve to 18-19 while the Magic fall to 7-30.
Check out the full box score here.
ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
Only the Celtics could go from defeating a team with the best record in the NBA to keeping things this close to the Magic, but it's just what's come to be expected.
Turnovers plagued this game from the jump, hanging a dark cloud on any positives. Their early aggression and a lead of as much as 14 points was flipped in the third, where a 20-4 run and 19 turnovers to that point helped the Magic go up 77-65.
Boston continued to trail much of the fourth quarter, making a late comeback to creep within two points with 1:30 on the clock. Marcus Smart and Jaylen Brown helped the Celtics force overtime, and that energy carried on, with Boston squeezing out of regulation and overtime despite 21 total team turnovers.
STARS OF THE GAME
-- Jaylen Brown secured a double-double, leading Boston with a game-high 50 points, 11 rebounds, four assists and a block. The seven turnovers were tough -- more than twice as many as any Celtics teammate in the game -- but he helped spark the fourth-quarter comeback to force overtime.
He kept up the energy in OT, too, with a dagger 3-pointer that came right before a pretty behind-the-back assist for Josh Richardson.
-- Terrence Ross seems to have a knack for giving Boston a hard time and Sunday was no exception -- even off the bench. He led Orlando with 33 points, five rebounds and three steals.
-- Smart had the play of the game, getting an unlucky roll on a layup on one of Boston's final possessions but making up for it on the other end. He forcefully grabbed a steal the very next play and made a pass in transition to assist Jaylen Brown in tying it up. He finished with 17 points, seven rebounds, seven assists, a steal and two blocks.
WAGER WATCH
Entering the contest, DraftKings Sportsbook had Jaylen Brown listed with -115 odds to score at least 27 points. A $115 bet paid out out $100.
UP NEXT
The Celtics stay at home until Wednesday, when they host the San Antonio Spurs at TD Garden at 7:30 p.m. ET.
