The Boston Celtics maintained their home dominance, going undefeated and sweeping the Orlando Magic in a two-game miniseries. They went 4-0 against them and the Cleveland Cavaliers this week.
Orlando kept it close thanks to another strong performance from Paolo Banchero. The Celtics were once again too much on both ends, even making the Magic look out of sorts.
Jaylen Brown looked like his All-NBA self from last season, taking care of the ball and making terrific passes to teammates with his six assists and five rebounds. With pull-up triples and electrifying two-way play, he made TD Garden erupt. Kristaps Porzingis had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday added 14 points and six rebounds.
Joe Mazzulla let out a fist-pump in joy after Brown made back-to-back pull-up triples in transition in the fourth quarter. After the game, the Celtics’ coach was asked about it.
“I think the players need to see that sometimes,” Mazzulla remarked. “I, like everyone else, care about winning and having fun, and I just thought it was a good time to show, like, I think we’re starting to play Celtic basketball.” From a mentality standpoint, a toughness standpoint, a defensive standpoint, and an identity standpoint, reflecting what it means to play like the Celtics. And I believe we’ve proved that this week, and the crowd has helped, and I think our players have worked hard to execute, and buying in has helped.”
Mazzulla praised his team’s performance as well as Brown. He sees leadership development as well.
“So I just thought it was a moment, a cool moment to be able to take that in, and it starts with our guys,” he went on to say. “Jaylen has matured as a player.” What he did in the fourth quarter was nothing more than playmaking—making the correct play. It’s been extremely great to watch him improve as a player and our squad this year, whether it was passing or scoring. The mindset of our crew.”
The Celtics will aim to extend their hot performance out west when they face the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET on TNT.