Boston @ Orlando preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 31, 2017 ) Orlando 116, Boston 117

Even a dismal first-half showing on the road cannot slow down the Boston Celtics, who look to extend their seven-game winning streak when they visit the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The Celtics fell behind by 18 points at the break at Oklahoma City on Friday - shooting 31 percent - before storming back on the shoulders of guard Kyrie Irving to steal a 101-94 victory.

"We battled," Irving told reporters after scoring 22 of his 25 points in the second half. "We took away some things they were feeling comfortable with in the first half, picked up our pace and our defensive pressure and things started going our way, and then we just kept battling to the end." Boston's seven-game run has given the squad the best record in the NBA, and not one opponent has scored more than 94 points during the streak. The Magic figure to offer up a test for the Celtics and enter this meeting as the top 3-point shooting team in the league (42.1 percent), although they finally laid an egg in that department in Friday's 105-83 home loss to Chicago. Orlando was 10-for-35 from beyond the arc and only managed three made free throws in losing at home for the first time this season.

TV: 6 p.m. ET, NBCS Boston, FS Florida (Orlando)

ABOUT THE CELTICS (7-2): Coach Brad Stevens is sensing his players taking responsibility for their actions and making some of the adjustments on their own, as they did Friday, which led to both Irving and Al Horford going off for 13 points in the fourth quarter. "I am really happy as you walk into the locker room at halftime and they’re talking about it," Stevens told reporters. "They know that they’re not playing at the level that we need to play at to beat a team like this." Jaylen Brown chipped in 10 points and 12 rebounds for his first career double-double and Marcus Morris (knee) made his season debut a solid one, producing nine points and four rebounds in 18 minutes.

ABOUT THE MAGIC (6-3): Orlando scored at least 113 points in its first seven games before dipping to 101 in a hard-fought win at Memphis on Wednesday and then bottoming out versus the Bulls, with hamstring injuries to point guards Elfrid Payton and D.J. Augustin catching up to the team on the offensive end. "Yeah, it's a factor," Magic coach Frank Vogel told the media when asked about the injuries. "It hurts your rhythm a little bit but it's not an excuse." The high-scoring trio of Evan Fournier, Aaron Gordon and Nikola Vucevic combined for 46 points - more than 15 below their collective average - and their teammates shot 33 percent.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Irving scored at least 20 points in seven straight games and he has just two turnovers in 91 minutes over the last three contests.

2. Fournier is shooting 59.8 percent over a six-game span.

3. Boston won four straight meetings, including a 117-87 rout in its last visit to Orlando.

PREDICTION: Celtics 105, Magic 100