BREAKING NEWS! CELTICS SURPRISE ANNOUNCEMENT! JAYLEN BROWN UPDATED! BOSTON CELTICS NEWS
BOSTON (AP) — Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis has a message for teams coming into TD Garden.
“For a visiting team to come into this building and beat us, its got to be a special night for them and we totally believe that,” he said after the Celtics beat the Orlando Magic 114-97 on Sunday to improve to an NBA-best 14-0 at home.
Jaylen Brown scored 17 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter for Boston, which made 17 3-pointers.
It’s the Celtics’ second-best start at home, behind the 1957-58 club led by Bill Russell that opened with 17 straight wins the fall after capturing the first of its 17 NBA titles. The Celtics have won five straight overall to improve to 20-5, a half-game ahead of Minnesota for the NBA lead.
“I think we’re starting to play what I would call Celtic basketball,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “From a mentality standpoint, from a toughness standpoint, from defensive standpoint and identity.”
Jayson Tatum added 23 points, Porzingis had 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Jrue Holiday scored 14 points for Boston, which completed a sweep of consecutive games at TD Garden against the Magic.
Paolo Banchero led Orlando with 36 points and 10 rebounds. Jalen Suggs added 13 points for the Magic, who shot just 38.2%.
Porzingis and Al Horford returned to Boston’s lineup after missing Friday’s 17-point victory. Porzingis was sidelined with a calf injury and the 37-year-old Horford for rest after playing a game the night earlier.
“I wouldn’t say impossible,’” Banchero said when asked about the difficulty of stopping the Celtics when they’re making 3s. “I would say they’re very hard to stop when the 3-ball is going in like it was today.”