NBA Game Recap - Boston at Orlando
Fri Jan 24, 2020 7:00 PM EST

MIL
116
CHA
103
F
BOS
109
ORL
98
F
MEM
125
DET
112
F
TOR
118
NY
112
F
ATL
111
OKC
140
F
HOU
131
MIN
124
F
LAC
122
MIA
117
F
SAC
98
CHI
81
F
DEN
113
NO
106
F
PHO
103
SA
99
F
IND
129
GS
118
F

Boston 109, Orlando 98

Jan 24, 2020, 7:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

3

4

T

Boston

24

29

29

27

109

Orlando

30

27

20

21

98

Celtics erase big 1st-half deficit, rally past Magic 109-98
Fri Jan 24, 2020 10:57 PM

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) The Boston Celtics were missing a lot of starters. They still had the two they needed: Kemba Walker and Gordon Hayward

Walker scored 37 points and Hayward added 22 to help the Celtics rally from a 16-point first-half deficit and defeat the Orlando Magic 109-98 on Friday night.

Walker also handed out six assists and Hayward grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds as Boston won without regulars Jason Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Enes Kanter. Daniel Theis contributed 16 points and bench players led an aggressive and effective defense to help Boston with its third straight.

“You have to focus even more so when guys are out to do your job as well as you can,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said. “That’s what good teams do. You have to play with that kind of effort and do the little things that win games.”

Walker scored 19 of his points in the second quarter, when the Celtics faced a 46-30 deficit. The Celtics point guard single-handedly kept a disorganized offense from digging too deep a hole by hitting 10 of 16 shots in the first half, including four 3-pointers.

“I thought (Walker) gave us everything he had in the first half and we were worried (whether) he would have much left,” Stevens said. “It was up to everyone else to take it to another level at that point and fortunately we did.”

Evan Fournier led Orlando with 30 points, but he had little help in the fourth quarter when his teammates combined to shoot 3 of 11 and commit three turnovers. Nikola Vucevic finished with 17 points and 12 rebounds, and Aaron Gordon was the only other player in double figures with 12 points.

Walker didn’t score in the third period, but Hayward and the aggressive defense were enough to allow Boston to pull away.

Hayward scored 12 points, grabbed eight rebounds and had four assists as Boston wiped out the 16-point deficit and took an 82-77 lead into the fourth quarter. Boston expanded it lead to 95-81 when Walker drilled his sixth 3-pointer of the game with 8:46 to go.

“Obviously, we had some of our top scorers out, so I tried to be more aggressive,” Hayward said. “I always try to be a playmaker and help the bigs out on the boards.”

Meanwhile, the Celtics defense disrupted the Magic's offense on nearly every possession. Orlando was just 14 of 43 (32.6%) in the second half and had only six assists on those 14 baskets.

“At the end of the day, if you’re going to beat that team, you’re going to have to play through contact, not turn the ball over and have clean possessions,” Magic coach Steve Clifford said. “It takes offensive energy and force and we had none of that.”

Still, Fournier’s shooting helped Orlando cut the deficit to 103-98 when Terrence Ross nailed a 3-pointer with 2:29 to play, but the Magic didn’t score the rest of the game. Boston picked up the pace considerably on defense in the second half. The Celtics limited Orlando to just 7 of 25 shooting (28%) in the third quarter, outscoring the Magic 29-20 to take an 82-77 lead. Walker didn’t score in that quarter, but the Celtics didn’t need him as Boston started to spread its scoring around.

Walker nailed his sixth 3-pointer of the game to put Boston up 95-81 with 8:46 left and then it was a matter of holding on.

Orlando got 12 points from Fournier and Terrence Ross hit a 3-pointer to close the gap to 103-98 with 2:29 to play, but the Magic went scoreless the rest of the game.

TIP-INS

Celtics: F Jayson Tatum (groin), G Jaylen Brown (ankle) and C Enes Kanter (hip) were all out. … At one point in the first half, Kemba Walker had outscored the rest of the Celtics 25-18.

Magic: F Jonathan Isaac, G D.J. Augustin and F Al-Farouq Aminu were out. ... Orlando had beaten Boston three straight times entering the game.

UP NEXT

Celtics: at New Orleans on Sunday.

Magic: home against LA Clippers on Sunday.

--

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Leaders

Boston PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
K. Walker 37 2 6 2 4 1
G. Hayward 22 12 5 14 1 0
Orlando PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
E. Fournier 30 -14 1 5 1 0
N. Vucevic 17 -6 4 12 1 0

Team Comparison

BOS ORL
Points For 109 98
Field Goals 40/86-47% 36/90-40%
Three Pointers 14/35-40% 12/37-32%
Free Throws 15/18-83% 14/19-74%
Offensive Rebounds 9 13
Defensive Rebounds 35 33
Rebounds 55 53
Blocks 7 1
Steals 10 5
Turnovers 13 14
Points Scored Off Turnovers 19 14
Points in the Paint 42 36
Fast Break Points 10 11
Personal Fouls 20 14
Technical Fouls 0 0
Flagrant Fouls 0 0
Ejections 0 0

2019-20 Reg Season - BOS Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Fri Jan 24 BOS 109 @ ORL 98 K. Walker 37 E. Fournier 30

Game Information

Stadium: Amway Center, Orlando, Florida
Attendance: 18,846
Game Time: 2:6