Field Level Media
Feb 5, 2020
Jayson Tatum scored 33 points, and the host Boston Celtics shot a blistering 56.5 percent from behind the 3-point arc to outlast the Orlando Magic 116-100 on Wednesday night.
Ahead of his first career All-Star Game appearance, Tatum carried the scoring with fellow All-Star selection Kemba Walker sidelined due to a sore left knee.
Boston was also without Marcus Smart due to a quadriceps contusion and Daniel Theis due to an ankle sprain. Yet, despite playing short-handed, the Celtics charged ahead in the first quarter and led nearly the duration.
Tatum shot 5 of 11 from 3-point range and added eight rebounds and five assists. Gordon Hayward finished with 23 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Grant Williams recorded 13 points for a second straight outing, providing energy off the bench for the depleted Celtics en route to their fifth straight win and eighth in their last nine games.
News was not all good for Boston in the win, however. Jaylen Brown, who scored 18 points and grabbed five rebounds, appeared to turn his ankle in the closing minutes of the win. He was taken to the locker room for further evaluation.
The All-Star break arrives after four more games, an opportune time for the injury-ravaged Celtics.
Evan Fournier led Orlando with 26 points. Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic both recorded double-doubles, with Gordon posting 23 points and 10 rebounds while Vucevic finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
Fournier shot 6 of 8 from behind the arc on a night the Magic hit a solid 13 of 31 from outside, but their 42.7 percent shooting from the floor overall to Boston's 53.5 percent made the difference.
Terrence Ross scored 18 points off the Orlando bench. Markelle Fultz, who came in having scored double figures in 10 of the past 12 games, finished with just four points on 2-of-4 shooting from the floor.
Orlando has dropped six of its past seven and eight of its past 10.
--Field Level Media