Celtics Wrap: Huge Second Quarter Lifts Boston Over Magic Again

To finish off a pair of mini-series at home, the Boston Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic in 114-97 win on Sunday afternoon at TD Garden.

With the win, Boston moves to 20-5 while Orlando moves to 16-9.

Check out the full box score here.

ONE BIG TAKEAWAY
The Celtics had their hands full with Orlando’s Paolo Banchero on Sunday.

The 2022 No. 1 overall pick sparked the Magic with a hot start, scoring 26 points in the first as Orlando led after the opening 12 minutes.

From there, the Celtics made adjustments to limit production around Banchero and flipped the script in the second quarter. Boston outscored Orlando 34-19 in that quarter to take an 11-point halftime lead. Jrue Holiday ignited the Celtics in that span with 14 points at the break.

The second half belonged to Jaylen Brown, who had a red-hot shooting day from three-point range to give Boston breathing room against a talented Orlando squad.

The Celtics pulled away two wins in all four games this week and continue their dominance at home improving to 14-0 at TD Garden.

STARS OF THE GAME
— Holiday gave the Celtics a boost, scoring 14 points and connected with Brown on this full-court scoring play.

JB finds Jrue on the opposite end of the court and gets the bucket 👀 pic.twitter.com/fCqwn636oT

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 17, 2023

— Brown led the Celtics in the scoring department, pouring in 31 points on the afternoon.

JB continues to COOK 😈 pic.twitter.com/Xa7oC1r8P2

— Celtics on NBC Sports Boston (@NBCSCeltics) December 17, 2023

— Banchero led all scorers with 36 points in an impressive performance.

WAGER WATCH
Banchero entered Sunday’s game at +900 to score the first basket, per FanDuel SportsBook. With his opening two-pointer, a $100 wager on Banchero would have cashed for $900 and a $1,000 total payout.

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UP NEXT
The Celtics begin a West Coast road trip on Tuesday night with a 2022 NBA Finals rematch against the Golden State Warriors. Tip-off is set for 10:00 p.m. ET.