After starting slow, Jaylen Brown’s Boston Celtics asserted themselves during the second half of Sunday’s 103-86 Game 1 first-round playoff home victory over the Orlando Magic. Afterward, the four-time All-Star called on his teammates to display more fight for the remainder of the series.
Jaylen Brown Says Celtics Need To Step Up Intensity
The Eastern Conference’s second-seeded Celtics (61-21) entered Sunday as heavy favorites over the seventh-seeded Magic (41-41). Nevertheless, the contest was a dogfight early on, with Orlando taking a 49-48 halftime edge behind 34 combined points from star forwards Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner.
Boston, known for its heavy outside shooting volume, was limited to 7-for-15 shooting from 3-point range (46.7%) in the opening half. However, after halftime, the defending NBA champions showed resolve, forcing six turnovers in the third quarter as they outscored the Magic 30-18.
The Celtics continued their scoring run in the fourth quarter. Their lead ballooned as high as 19 points despite them finishing a relatively quiet 16-for-37 from deep (43.2%).
Shooting guard Derrick White was Boston’s biggest standout, tallying a team-high 30 points, four rebounds, and seven triples on 10-for-18 shooting (55.6%). Meanwhile, sixth-man Payton Pritchard chipped in a postseason career-high 19 points and four 3s, shooting 6-for-8 (75%).
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Their strong play helped offset subpar performance from Brown and his co-star Jayson Tatum, who were held to 33 combined points on 14-for-36 shooting (38.9%).
According to Brown, Orlando showed more grit to begin the game, forcing his squad to adjust its second-half approach. As such, he expects the Celtics to maintain a sense of urgency for the remainder of Round 1.
“In the first half, they kind of controlled the intensity levels of the game, they were more physical than us, and in the second half, we kind of shifted that,” Brown said. “So, we’ve gotta have that mentality all series long. … We’ve gotta have the hunted mentality, be more physical, set the tone, set the intensity of the game. I think Orlando did a great job of that in the first half.”
Asked Jaylen Brown about the shift at the half:
“They were more physical than us. The second half, we kind of shifted that.”
“There's gonna be a lot of that this series. Can't expect nothing less. It's gonna be more fight than it is skill. Our guys got to be ready to fight.” pic.twitter.com/jvyAL0DAtX
— Noa Dalzell 🏀 (@NoaDalzell)
The reigning NBA Finals MVP added that the C’s will likely need to grind out more victories against a defensive-minded Magic squad. Orlando finished the regular season second in defensive rating (109.1) but just 27th in offensive rating (108.9).
“It’s gonna be more of a fight than it is skill, so our guys gotta be able to fight,” Brown said.
Game 2 takes place in Boston on Wednesday, April 23, giving Brown and Co. two days off before they look to take a commanding 2-0 series lead.
