BOSTON — The Boston Celtics welcomed the Orlando Magic to TD Garden on Sunday afternoon for Game 1 of their first-round playoff series. Orlando took down the Atlanta Hawks in the Play-In Tournament, earning the chance to play the reigning champions, who are fresh off the back of a 61-win regular season.
A relatively rocky first half for the Celtics saw Orlando take a one-point lead heading into half-time as their physicality led the way on both ends of the floor. However, a monster third quarter helped Boston surge back, giving them a nice lead to work with heading into the final frame.
In the end, the Celtics walked away with a 103-86 victory, taking a 1-0 lead in the series. Here are 10 notes from the first game of Celtics vs. Magic.
1. Tatum and Brown’s slow start
The first half of this game was an awkward one for the Celtics’ offense. Orlando is an extremely physical team, and as they turned up the heat with their post defense and pick-and-roll stoppages, Boston didn’t seem to match their fire.
A slow start from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown highlighted this issue. Neither of them was nearly as aggressive as they needed to be, especially when getting to the spots that usually work for them.
Brown looked alright to start the game, but it’s clear that his knee is holding him back (even if it’s only a little bit). Meanwhile, Tatum was far too passive in the first half, especially when he had the ball in his hands.
A few questionable shot choices combined with an overall lack of urgency made it look like Tatum (and Brown, at times) just wasn’t intentional enough with his choices.
2. Derrick White kept them afloat
But as Orlando did their best to put the pressure on Boston’s offense, Derrick White was there to throw them a life preserver.
Whenever Tatum, Brown, or any of his other teammates managed to beat a mismatch and suck in the Magic’s defense, White made the most of his off-the-ball opportunities. Combined with some nice looks in transition, he gave the Celtics just enough offense to withstand a slow start in the first half.
And in typical Derrick White fashion, the buckets continued to come through in clutch moments. Whether it was when the Magic were on a run in the third or in the fourth quarter when the Celtics needed a bucket, White was there. He was Boston's best source of offense all night long.
3. Payton Pritchard’s punch
Right alongside him was Payton Pritchard, who gave the Celtics an immediate, much-needed spark off the bench when he entered the game.
Pritchard’s substitution came a bit later than normal in Game 1. He usually enters the game mid-way through the first quarter, but he didn’t see any action until there was 1:50 remaining in the opening frame.
But once he got in the game, he lit the Magic up.
From catch-and-shoot threes to nifty finishes in the lane, Pritchard was dicing up whatever Magic defender they put in front of him. Alongside White’s buckets, Pritchard’s offensive initiation was exactly what the Celtics needed.
And as the second half got going, Pritchard didn’t slow down. He absolutely torched the Magic whenever he got the ball, especially from behind the three-point arc.
In the potential Sixth Man of the Year’s first game of the playoffs, he put forth a great bid for the Sixth Man of the Postseason, too.
4. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner looked good
As Tatum and Brown struggled, Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner did not. The two Magic stars outplayed Boston’s top duo in the first half of this game, and they did it by getting inside.
Banchero eventually found his footing from behind the arc in the third quarter, but most of his (and Wagner’s) damage came from inside the arc.
Boston just didn’t do a good enough job of putting pressure on them at times.
5. No one else on the Magic can score
At the same time, while Banchero and Wagner churned out efficient, effective scoring nights, it quickly became clear that the rest of Orlando’s roster wasn’t going to be much of a factor on offense.
Through the first three quarters of the game, nobody outside of Banchero or Wagner had made more than two baskets. And perhaps that was part of the Celtics’ game plan.
6. Kristaps Porzingis looked ineffective
This was not the game for Kristaps Porzingis. The Magic play a very physical brand of basketball, and whenever they put that style to work against Porzingis, especially in the post, he was unable to overcome it.
Porzingis shot just 1-of-8 from the field, including 0-of-2 from deep, and whenever the Celtics tried to feed him the ball inside, the Magic were there to put a stop to that idea.
Using Porzingis as more of a pure pick-and-pop guy might be the best course of action for the remainder of this series.
7. A huge Jrue Holiday third quarter
When the third quarter opened up, the Celtics were down by one point. A slow first half was fresh in the minds of those in attendance at TD Garden, but they quickly worked to erase it.
And Jrue Holiday helped lead the charge.
Tatum, Brown, and the rest of the Celtics turned up their intensity, but Holiday’s contributions stood out amongst the rest.
He was a pest on defense, filled the gaps well on offense, and hit some big-time shots that fired up the Celtics fans in the crowd.
In the first half, Holiday had zero points, two rebounds, and zero assists. He shot 0-of-3 from the floor. In the third quarter, he posted nine points, one rebound, and four assists, shooting a perfect 3-of-3 from the field (on all three-point attempts).
8. Wendell Carter Jr. can’t guard
The entire night, no matter if they were struggling to generate offense or cooking with gas, the Celtics made sure to target Wendell Carter Jr. relentlessly.
Tatum went at him. Brown went at him. Pritchard even went at him. He just couldn’t hold up when the Celtics dragged him out of the paint and forced him to guard on the perimeter.
Boston used a similar tactic with Cole Anthony, but Carter Jr. was their primary target of choice. Tatum, Brown, and Pritchard were simply too quick for Carter Jr. to keep up with.
Whoever Carter Jr. was guarding would go up to the top of the key, screen for Tatum, Brown, or Pritchard, the Magic would switch, and the Celtics would go to work.
9. Sam Hauser’s hustle
It was small, and there were some gaps between his moments, but Sam Hauser made a bunch of great plays for the Celtics throughout the night.
Two of them game in the early stages of the fourth quarter. In one instance, he blocked Caleb Houstan’s mid-range attempt, and Pritchard nailed a huge three on the other end. Jamahl Mosley was forced to call a timeout with 10:28 in the fourth.
Then, though it didn’t result in much, Hauser sprawled out on the ground to dive for a loose ball. Those are the little plays that stand out in the midst of a heated playoff atmosphere.
10. Monitor Jaylen Brown's minutes
It may be nothing, but keep an eye on Brown's minutes throughout the series. Though both he and Joe Mazzulla stated that he would not be on a minutes restriction, Pritchard was on the floor to close the game over Brown.
This could simply be due to the fact that Pritchard was on fire, but Brown played almost 30:19, so perhaps the Celtics are looking to give him a bit of rest when they can afford to (especially considering they had a comfortable lead when the game was wrapping up).