Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and the Boston Celtics played solid defense in a 116-83 victory over the Orlando Magic on Sunday night for their season-best fifth straight win.
Boston limited Orlando to 35.8% shooting from the floor and 5 of 25 from 3-point range. It was similar to their matchup in November when the Celtics beat the Magic by holding them to 79 points and 32.1% shooting — both season lows.
“It’s suffocating, at times, with our size and versatility,” Boston coach Ime Udoka said of his team’s defense. “We’ve got big wings, versatile bigs and a pit bull for a point guard (Marcus Smart). There’s no real weakness out there or anybody to pick on. …
“This is what we envisioned and it’s coming to fruition now that we have some consistency with our lineups.”
Dennis Schröder scored 23 points and hit four 3-pointers off Boston’s bench, while Al Horford added 13 points and 11 rebounds for his 10th double-double.
Jayson Tatum had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, but he shot just 6 of 18. Brown, who scored a career-best 50 points in an overtime victory over Orlando last month, made 10 of 22 shots. It is Boston’s first five-game win streak since April 7-17, 2021, when it won six straight.
Rookie Jalen Suggs had 17 points, six rebounds and five assists for Orlando, which dropped to an NBA-worst 0-21 when it fails to score 100 points.
Boston never trailed Sunday and beat the Magic for a third time this season. The Celtics swept the season series for a third straight year.
TIP-INS
Celtics: Smart came into Sunday third in the NBA in steals at 1.87 a game, but his effectiveness as a defender extends beyond that area. He’s also had 140 pass deflections — 64 more than his next closest teammate. He also leads the team in charges taken with seven. ... Boston missed its first six 3-point shots and 14 of the first 15 tries from beyond the arc. ... Boston pulled even in the standings with the struggling Nets, the team it faces Tuesday in Brooklyn.
Magic: Mo Bamba played despite spraining his right ankle again Saturday. He had eight points, 10 rebounds and two blocks on Sunday. ... Rookie Franz Wagner is one of just 10 players in the NBA to appear in all of his team’s games this season. Also, he is the only rookie to not miss a game. ... Orlando made just five of its first 21 shots and missed all four of its 3-point tries in the first quarter. (AP)