Boston Celtics vs Orlando Magic Match Player Stats On Nov 05, 2017

The Sports Xchange
Nov 5, 2017

ORLANDO, Fla. -- The Boston Celtics won their eighth consecutive game Sunday night with another impressive defensive performance, smothering the Orlando Magic 104-88 at the Amway Center.

Second-year guard Jaylen Brown led Boston's well-balanced attack with 18 points.

Al Horford had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics. Jayson Tatum scored 13 points, and Marcus Morris, in his first start of the season after returning from a knee injury, had 12 points and seven boards. Kyrie Irving finished with 11 points and five assists.

The Celtics (8-2) have built the best record in the NBA by allowing the fewest points in the league (99.1 per game).

Aaron Gordon led the Magic (6-4) with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Jonathon Simmons had 14 points for Orlando, while Nikola Vucevic contributed 13 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists.

The Celtics built a 87-71 lead by opening the fourth quarter with a 10-2 run, sparked by a quick six from Morris around the basket.

The Magic never seriously challenged again.

The Celtics led 77-69 going into the fourth quarter after Brown carried them through the third with 11 points.

Simmons completed two 3-point plays in the third quarter and the Magic managed to close within four points.

The Celtics led 49-38 at intermission despite shooting just 41 percent from the field. They dominated early by smothering the Magic, who hit just 15 of 46 shots (32.6 percent) in the first half.

Irving missed all four of his 3-point attempts in the first two quarters but still led the Celtics early with 10 points.

Gordon had 10 first-half points for the Magic, including eight in the last four minutes of the second quarter. The Celtics led by as many as 13 points in the first half.

For the game, Boston outshot Orlando 43.8 percent to 36.3 percent.

NOTES: Celtics F Marcus Morris, who missed the first eight games with a sore left knee, played a key role in reserve Friday night in his season debut before starting Sunday. As a precaution, he is not expected to play Monday in Atlanta. ... F Jonathon Simmons also got his first start as the Magic went without a true point guard. Elfrid Payton, who was expected to be the starter this season, missed his eighth consecutive game with a lingering sore hamstring. He is expected to be back in the lineup Wednesday against the Knicks. The Magic started PG Shelvin Mack on Friday, but he did not play well and so Simmons replaced him. ... Magic F Evan Fournier and F Aaron Gordon came in as two of just three players in the league this season shooting above 50 percent from the field and the 3-point line. . ... The Celtics became the first team in NBA history to win eight consecutive games after opening the season with two consecutive losses.