Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 36 points and the Boston Celtics overcame the absence of leading scorer Jayson Tatum to beat the visiting Orlando Magic 109-100 Wednesday in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first-round series.
Brown was 12 of 19 from the field — including 5-of-7 from 3-point territory — grabbed 10 rebounds and had five assists. Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and 10 rebounds for the second-seeded Celtics, who have a 2-0 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“He’s been great and consistent throughout the season,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said about Brown. “He can take it to another level mentally and physically, and he did that for his team tonight. At the end of the day, he’s willing to do whatever it takes for us to win.”
Orlando used an 8-0 run to pull within five points early in the fourth quarter, but the Magic never got any closer.
“I thought we played with a lot of heart, a lot of character,” said Magic forward Franz Wagner. “We made a bunch of runs in the game.”
Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points per game during the regular season, didn’t play in Game 2 because of a bone bruise. He was knocked to the floor while driving to the basket in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 103-86 Game 1 win on Sunday. Tatum returned to the game, but was listed as “doubtful” for Game 2 before the team’s final injury report officially ruled him out.
In his pregame press conference, Mazzulla called Tatum “day-to-day.” The Celtics went 8-2 during the regular season when Tatum didn’t play. Both losses came against Orlando.
The seventh-seeded Magic received 32 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Paulo Banchero. Wagner finished with 25 points and Wendell Carter Jr. had 16.
Derrick White (17), Payton Pritchard (14) and Jrue Holiday (11) also scored in double figures for the Celtics, who won despite shooting 45.0 percent from the field.
The Celtics led 23-21 after one quarter and 50-47 at halftime. Boston had its largest lead of the game when Pritchard connected on a 3-pointer that put the Celtics up 81-66 with 38.4 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but Orlando closed the quarter on a 5-0 spurt and trailed 81-71 entering the fourth.
The series shifts to Orlando for Game 3, which will be played Friday.
“It doesn’t become a series until the home team loses,” said Magic coach Jamahl Mosley. “… Our crowd is one of the best in the league. That energy is something we’re gonna need.”
–Field Level Media
