The Boston Celtics earned their fifth straight win Sunday against the Orlando Magic, 116-83, and did so behind yet another impressive performance on the defensive end.
Celtics head coach Ime Udoka said Boston’s defense, which held Orlando to 36% from the field including 19% from long range all while forcing 19 turnovers, was his biggest takeaway from the win. The Celtics now have held an opponent below 90 points eight times this season, which is the most in the NBA, according to Celtics Stats. Boston is a perfect 8-0 in those games.
“Yeah, it’s suffocating at times with our size and versatility,” Udoka said on a postgame video conference. “We’ve got big wings, versatile bigs, and obviously a pit bull of a point guard. So there’s no real weakness out there that you can pick on.”
The Celtics recorded nine steals in the game with their defense continuing to benefit from their full lineup. Boston’s starting five now has outscored opponents by 24.5 points per 100 possessions this season, according to Boston.com’s Tom Westerholm.
The return to health also has helped the Celtics record their first five-game win streak of the season.
“This is kind of what we envisioned and it’s coming together now that we have some consistency back in the lineups,” Udoka said.
The Celtics will turn the page as they get set to travel to Brooklyn to face the Nets on Tuesday. Brooklyn will be without the injured Kevin Durant and unavailable Kyrie Irving.
