In Sunday’s 114–97 win over the Orlando Magic, Jaylen Brown scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter. The Celtics now have an NBA-best 14-0 home record.
It is the Celtics’ second-best start at home. The best was the team led by Bill Russell in 1957–58, which won 17 straight games after winning the first of its 17 NBA titles in the fall.
Kristaps Porzingis scored 15 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, Jayson Tatum scored 23 points, and Jrue Holiday scored 14 points for Boston. They won all three games at TD Garden against the Magic to make it five straight wins overall.
Paulo Banchero scored 36 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to lead Orlando. The Magic, who only made 38.2% of their shots, got 13 points from Jalen Suggs.
After missing Friday’s 17-point win, Porzingis and Al Horford came back into Boston’s lineup. Horford, who is 37 years old, had to miss the game because he played a game the night before and hurt his leg.
The Celtics were ahead by nine points going into the fourth quarter, and Brown scored ten of their first twelve points to help them stay ahead. For example, he made a 3-pointer from the top of the key and from the right corner. He also made jumpers from the left sideline and the foul line.
His third made basket during a break gave Boston a 103-86 lead with 6:25 left in the game. To end his great last quarter, he made a fadeaway from the right side.
Tatum got his third foul when Magic coach Jamahl Mosley disputed a blocking call against Franz Wagner in the middle of the second quarter. However, that did not hurt the Celtics’ attack.
With Tatum sitting at the end of the bench, the Celtics just went on a run.
A jump shot by Banchero with 5:48 left in the half tied the game at 41. But Brown scored nine points during a 20-5 run that lasted almost five minutes and gave the Celtics a 61-50 lead at halftime.
Even though the Magic tried zone defense during that time, it did not stop Boston’s run.