The Celtics dominated the second half against the Orlando Magic on Sunday afternoon and pulled away for a comfortable 103-86 Game 1 victory at TD Garden.
Derrick White was the surprise offensive star for Boston, leading the team with a game-high 30 points in the playoff opener. Payton Pritchard added 19 points off Boston’s bench while Jayson Tatum (17 points, 14 rebounds) chipped in with a double-double in the win. Paolo Banchero led all scorers with 36 points for the Magic in the setback.
The hosts led by as many as 11 points in the first half, before a strong close by Orlando in the second quarter gave them an unexpected two-point halftime lead.
However, the Celtics fought back in the third quarter, with White and Jrue Holiday (nine points) helping turn the tide with their defense and playmaking in transition. Boston regained control of the game with a 28-10 run and didn’t look back from there, slowing down a Magic offense that didn’t have anywhere to turn beyond Banchero and Franz Wagner (23 points).
The Celtics now get two days to rest up before hosting Game 2 at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
Here are four takeaways from the Celtics’ Game 1 win.
Magic crush the offensive glass early: The Celtics were one of the best defensive rebounding teams in the league this season, but they had trouble with the Magic’s size all over the floor in Game 1 early. Orlando missed a lot early (30 percent in the first quarter) but managed to stay in the game thanks to their offensive rebounding. They grabbed eight offensive rebounds in the first quarter and snagged offensive boards on 46 percent of their misses in the first half, leading to seven second chance points. Boston was doing a lot of switching defensively against the entire Magic roster, and that left them exposed on the glass on multiple occasions, which helped Orlando erase a 12-point first half deficit. However, Boston tightened up in this area in the second half, as Orlando only tallied five offensive rebounds in the final three quarters despite a subpar shooting night.
Jaylen Brown is moving around well after layoff: The All-Star saw his first action in two weeks in Game 1 following a pain management injection in his knee at the end of the regular season. Physically, Brown largely looked like himself in Game 1, making several effort plays on the defensive end while attacking the hoop like usual. He struggled at points with Orlando’s size in the interior, but that was largely a byproduct of them packing the paint rather than the knee limiting Brown. The veteran wing also played his usual playoff minutes in the first half so it appears there will be no playing time limitations on him like we saw at the end of the regular season. With the Celtics comfortably ahead in the second quarter, he did not play much in the fourth quarter and finished with 30 minutes.
Celtics backcourt carries the day offensively: With Boston’s starters having mediocre outings in the first half (only one player in double figures) the Celtics leaned to a couple reliable to keep their offense going. Derrick White erupted for 16 points in the first half with his 3-point shooting carrying the day (4-of-6 before intermission) while Payton Pritchard did not miss in the first half, scoring 11 points in just seven minutes. One of the second guesses for Joe Mazzulla early was giving Pritchard such a short run in the first half despite him having it going offensively. However, he made up for it by turning to Pritchard early in the second half, which helped Boston sustain their strong third quarter start and put the game away. Jrue Holiday also emerged with a monster third quarter that included nine points and several key defensive plays. The trio helped counteract a subpar performance by Boston’s stars which led to an easy win.
Celtics run their way to a big lead in the third quarter: The Magic defense kept the Celtics firepower at bay for much of the first half as they used their size and skill to control Boston’s stars in the half court. However, the Celtics regained control in the third quarter, using a 28-10 run to push their lead back into double digits after squandering an 11-point first half lead. Boston’s started pushing the ball much more in this sequence to the tune of 12 second chance points, taking advantage of Magic miscues and their propensity to crash the offensive glass.
