NBA Game Preview - Orlando at Boston

Wed Feb 5, 2020 7:30 PM EST

The Boston Celtics look for their fifth straight victory on Wednesday when they welcome the Orlando Magic to TD Garden.

The Celtics are winners of seven of their last eight games after posting a 123-115 victory over Atlanta on Monday. Boston appears to be hitting its stride at an important juncture, with the All-Star break and trade deadlines both looming.

Boston extended its winning streak even with All-Star selection Kemba Walker and defensive stopper Marcus Smart both on the sideline. The absences provided Celtics coach Brad Stevens to employ more of a bench that could be vital to their late-season push.

"I came in tonight, just trying to accomplish and do my job. I feel like I did a great job of that, defending," rookie Grant Williams told reporters after his 13-point, six-rebound performance off the bench in Atlanta. "Our defense has to spark our offense, and I thought we did a great job of that tonight."

Williams and third-year reserve Semi Ojeleye have both played key minutes and given Boston a boost during the current, eight-game stretch. Ojeleye has logged 20-plus minutes in four games and registered highs of 11 points in Saturday's defeat of Philadelphia, and five rebounds against both 76ers and the Los Angeles Lakers (Jan. 20).

Williams' 13 points at Atlanta marked his second highest on the season, and he grabbed seven rebounds in a Jan. 28 defeat of the Miami Heat. Stevens had used the duo together, with the biggest boost from his perspective coming on defense.

"The Semi/Grant 4/5 is not traditional, but it is very strong," Stevens told The Athletic following the 116-95 rout of Philadelphia. "It's hard to post because they're so strong and they can both move their feet and guard. So you're able to switch a lot with that group and not lose a whole lot from a perimeter defense standpoint. And then if we're a little bit bigger around them with our wings, we've got a lot of versatility."

Boston's current run includes a 109-98 win in Orlando on Jan. 24, in which Williams posted a +17 plus-minus rating. The loss was the second in a five-game skid for the Magic, and the fourth in a spell that they dropped seven of eight.

Orlando pulled out of the tailspin with a 112-100 win on Monday in Charlotte, the first of three consecutive road games for the Magic. They embark on this Eastern Conference road swing in eighth place, four games ahead of Chicago for the last berth in the playoffs and just a half-game behind Brooklyn for seventh.

Two players recorded double-doubles for Orlando in the win at Charlotte, with Aaron Gordon scoring 16 points and grabbing 12 rebounds. Markelle Fultz continued his strong play of late with 12 points and 14 assists.

Fultz has already played in 16 more games this season than the previous two combined in Philadelphia, and his 11.7 points and 4.8 assists per game mark career-bests. In the 17 games since the calendar turned to 2020, Fultz is averaging 12.6 points, 5.9 assists and 4.6 rebounds per game, and registered a triple-double in Orlando's Jan. 15 defeat of the Los Angeles Lakers.

"Part of that (improvement) is being out there on the floor, making mistakes and learning from them," Fultz said per the Magic's official website. "It's a combination of experiencing things while I'm playing as the games go on and then I also want to get better at making the right film prep, asking the right questions and making sure that I'm prepared for the games."

--Field Level Media