There were a few anxious moments at TD Garden on Sunday after the Magic took a one-point halftime lead in Game 1 of this first-round playoff series.
But they were ultimately washed away with little difficulty thanks to strong second-half performances by Boston’s secondary pieces, and the Celtics started their title defense with a comfortable 103-86 win.
Derrick White poured in 30 points, Payton Pritchard added 19 off the bench, and Jrue Holiday sparked the Celtics’ 30-16 third-quarter run to ensure that the Magic did not linger. Jayson Tatum added 17 points and 14 rebounds, but was 1 for 8 from the 3-point line and 0 for 4 from the foul line.
Paolo Banchero tallied 36 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Magic and Franz Wagner added 23 points, but no other Orlando player scored more than seven.
⋅ It was a mostly quiet day for Tatum. At the start he missed a pair of free throws and then fired a 3-pointer that caromed off the backboard. Those quiet stretches sometimes stick with him a bit, and he passed up a clean look from the arc soon after.
After sitting to start the second quarter, he missed another open 3-pointer and then had the ball knocked out off his leg. He went to the break with just 6 points and 2 assists on 3-for-9 shooting.
⋅ The biggest question for the Celtics entering these playoffs was whether Jaylen Brown would regain his usual burst that had been reduced by the bone bruise in his right knee over the last six weeks. But he looked great in the opening quarter and showed no signs that anything was ever amiss.
He took a hard spill four minutes into the game but quickly bounced back up. Moments later he converted a driving layup. The Celtics are one of the best teams in the league at igniting transition chances after opponents’ made baskets, and after a Wagner field goal Brown dashed the other way and made an acrobatic, off-balance layup.
The only hint that the Celtics were easing Brown back into action was the fact that he started the game guarding Cory Joseph rather than Banchero or Wagner, although everyone ultimately guards everyone in Boston’s switch-heavy scheme. Late in the second quarter, after Banchero began to truly have his way against Boston, Brown played a few possessions as his primary defender.
⋅ Al Horford generally doesn’t say much to referees, other than to make his case that a ball that was ruled out off the Celtics should actually have been called the other way. But his favorable reputation may have helped him out late in the first quarter after he was called for pushing Anthony Black to the ground on a post-up. Horford immediately stomped toward the closest official, shoving Black out of the way as he went, and got right in the referee’s face as if he were a baseball manager. But no technical foul was called. Perhaps it pays to be known as a nice guy.
⋅ The Celtics took a 26-18 lead to the second quarter, but coach Joe Mazzulla was probably a bit concerned by the shot margin. Orlando had eight more field-goal attempts than the Celtics thanks to its work on the offensive glass. Boston was fortunate the Magic were just 1 for 8 on second-chance shots in the opening quarter.
⋅ Boston took a 32-20 lead, its largest of the half, on a spirited possession that started with a Kristaps Porzingis block and ended with a Pritchard 3-pointer that led to a Magic timeout. But things went sour over the rest of the quarter.
The Magic, who hit a league-low 31.8 percent of their 3-pointers during the regular season, connected on 5 of 9 in the period. For the Celtics, meanwhile, Tatum, Brown, and Porzingis combined to go just 2 for 13 from the field in the quarter. That combination allowed the Magic to push in front and take a 49-48 lead to the break. Banchero and Wagner combined to score 34 of Orlando’s first-half points.
⋅ The problem for Celtics opponents is that Tatum, Brown, and Porzingis can be scuffling through tough offensive games, and then all of a sudden there’s someone like Holiday to handle.
The Celtics guard hit a pair of pull-up 3-pointers in the opening minutes of the third quarter, the second following his own steal. Then with 5:27 left he came up with another steal and drained a 3-pointer from the top of the key that made it 66-56, and he subsequently added a pair of assists to help the Celtics take a 74-59 lead, their largest.
⋅ There was an unusual play at the end of the third quarter. Both teams headed to their benches, but when they returned to the court the officials announced that a review determined that Brown had fouled Wagner with 0.5 seconds left. It did not appear that the Magic had challenged the play, either. Wagner hit both free throws and the fourth quarter began moments later. But the sequence did nothing to shift momentum. The Celtics needed just 90 seconds to seize control with an 8-0 run, sparked by Pritchard, that made it 86-69.
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
