Game ID: 22300329
Orlando Magic @ Boston Celtics
Friday, December 15, 2023 at 7:30 PM ET
TD Garden, Boston, MA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
BOS 30 34 37 27 128ORL 24 27 27 33 111
BOS vs ORL ScoutingBOS vs ORL Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
BOS availability going into 12/04 · 2 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 3 since 11/26, out tonight
OUT Brissett missed 3 since 11/26, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/28 after 2, 34 min since (101% of 34)
BACK Queta back 11/26 after 3, 13 min since (113% of 11)
BOS availability going into 12/08 · 3 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 4 since 11/26, returns tonight: 29 min (101% of 29)
OUT Brissett missed 4 since 11/26, returns tonight: 0 min (3% of 10)
BACK Holiday back 11/28 after 2, 35 min since (104% of 34)
BACK Queta back 11/26 after 3, 13 min since (113% of 11)
BOS availability going into 12/12 · 3 days' restOUT Queta missed 2 since 12/04, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/28 after 2, 35 min since (104% of 34)
BACK Porziņģis back 12/08 after 4, 29 min since (101% of 29)
BACK Brissett back 12/08 after 4, 0 min since (3% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/14 · 1 day's restOUT Queta missed 3 since 12/04, out tonight
BACK Holiday back 11/28 after 2, 35 min since (103% of 34)
BACK Porziņģis back 12/08 after 4, 30 min since (105% of 29)
BACK Brissett back 12/08 after 4, 0 min since (3% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/15 · back-to-backOUT Queta missed 4 since 12/04, returns tonight: 18 min (163% of 11)
OUT Brissett missed 2 since 12/12, returns tonight: 16 min (149% of 10)
BACK Porziņģis back 12/08 after 4, 31 min since (105% of 29)
BOS availability going into 12/17 · 1 day's restOUT Kornet missed 2 since 12/14, out tonight
BACK Porziņģis back 12/08 after 4, 31 min since (105% of 29)
BACK Queta back 12/15 after 4, 18 min since (163% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 12/08 after 4, 8 min since (76% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/19 · 1 day's restOUT Kornet missed 3 since 12/14, out tonight
BACK Porziņģis back 12/08 after 4, 30 min since (104% of 29)
BACK Queta back 12/15 after 4, 17 min since (155% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 12/08 after 4, 6 min since (58% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/20 · back-to-backOUT Kornet missed 4 since 12/14, out tonight
BACK Queta back 12/15 after 4, 18 min since (165% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 12/15 after 2, 8 min since (75% of 10)
BOS availability going into 12/23 · 2 days' restOUT Kornet missed 5 since 12/14, out tonight
BACK Queta back 12/15 after 4, 19 min since (166% of 11)
BACK Brissett back 12/15 after 2, 10 min since (96% of 10)
ORL availability going into 12/02 · back-to-backOUT Carter Jr. missed 14 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Fultz missed 11 since 11/11, out tonight
BACK Isaac back 12/01 after 2, 7 min since (42% of 16)
NEW Bitadze 15 to 24 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/06 · 3 days' restOUT Carter Jr. missed 15 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Fultz missed 12 since 11/11, out tonight
BACK Isaac back 12/01 after 2, 7 min since (42% of 16)
NEW Anthony 22 to 27 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 20 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/08 · 1 day's restOUT Carter Jr. missed 16 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Fultz missed 13 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 2 since 12/02, out tonight
NEW Anthony 22 to 28 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 22 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/11 · 2 days' restOUT Carter Jr. missed 17 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Fultz missed 14 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Isaac missed 3 since 12/02, returns tonight: 13 min (82% of 16)
NEW Black 16 to 22 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 23 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/15 · 3 days' restOUT Carter Jr. missed 18 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Fultz missed 15 since 11/11, out tonight
BACK Isaac back 12/01 after 2, 10 min since (62% of 16)
NEW Bitadze 15 to 24 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/17 · 1 day's restOUT Carter Jr. missed 19 since 11/04, out tonight
OUT Fultz missed 16 since 11/11, out tonight
BACK Isaac back 12/11 after 3, 15 min since (90% of 16)
NEW Bitadze 15 to 25 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/20 · 2 days' restOUT Carter Jr. missed 20 since 11/04, returns tonight: 23 min (91% of 26)
OUT Fultz missed 17 since 11/11, out tonight
BACK Isaac back 12/11 after 3, 15 min since (94% of 16)
NEW Bitadze 15 to 27 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/21 · back-to-backOUT Fultz missed 18 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 2 since 12/17, out tonight
BACK Carter Jr. back 12/20 after 20, 23 min since (91% of 26)
BACK Isaac back 12/11 after 3, 15 min since (89% of 16)
NEW Black 16 to 22 min over the last 5
NEW Bitadze 15 to 24 min over the last 5
ORL availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Fultz missed 19 since 11/11, out tonight
OUT Ingles missed 3 since 12/17, out tonight
BACK Carter Jr. back 12/20 after 20, 22 min since (87% of 26)
BACK Isaac back 12/11 after 3, 14 min since (88% of 16)
NEW Bitadze 15 to 24 min over the last 4
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 116, shooting 49 percent and 39 from three, 23 free throws a game; Tatum at 26 and Brown at 23 a game. That is 3 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. Orlando comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 114 a night and allowing 112, shooting 48 percent and 30 from three, 28 free throws a game; Banchero at 27 and F. Wagner at 22 a game. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Carter Jr. (18 straight), Fultz (15 straight). 3 days' rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Boston has been plus-5 a night and Orlando minus-5 and the arc, Boston at 39 percent from three to Orlando's 30. Call it Boston 115, Orlando 113, Orlando keeping it close.
12/04 @ IND 112-122 — BOS notes
BOS lost 112-119. BOS shot 47% (46 of 97) to IND's 46%, 12 of 41 from three, and got to the line just 12 times against 19 fouls committed. BOS turned it over 17 times to IND's 6, and IND turned those into 8 steals. The glass went 56-41 for them. Tatum led with 32 (13 of 26, 2 of 8 from three, 4 of 7 at the line); Brown added 30, White 18. Q2 was theirs, 31-26, but the other 3 periods went 93-81 against them. Holiday's -15 in 38 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/08 vs NYK 133-123 — BOS notes
BOS won 133-123. BOS shot 53% (48 of 91) to NYK's 50%, 19 of 47 from three, and got to the line 21 times to NYK's 27. BOS turned it over 7 times to NYK's 13. The glass went 34-44 against them. White led with 30 (10 of 16, 6 of 10 from three); Tatum added 25, Porziņģis 21. The hinge was Q2, 41-33: a lead of 1 became 9, and the lead reached 20. White was the night's best plus/minus at +21.
12/12 vs CLE 120-113 — BOS notes
BOS won 120-113. BOS shot 45% (38 of 84) to CLE's 48%, 18 of 44 from three, and went to the line 26 times to CLE's 9 — 26 points from the stripe to their 6. The glass went 45-35 for them. Tatum led with 25 (7 of 19, 2 of 9 from three, 9 of 9 at the line); Brown added 25, Porziņģis 21. The hinge was Q2, 38-29: the deficit went from 10 to 1. BOS trailed 59-60 at the half and won the second half 61-53. Hauser was the night's best plus/minus at +14.
12/14 vs CLE 116-107 — BOS notes
BOS won 116-107. BOS shot 51% (43 of 85) to CLE's 48%, 13 of 36 from three. Tatum led with 27 (9 of 22, 3 of 10 from three, 6 of 8 at the line); Brown added 22, Porziņģis 18. The hinge was Q1, 33-24: from level to 9 ahead. Holiday was the night's best plus/minus at +11.
12/15 vs ORL 128-111 — BOS notes
BOS won 128-111. BOS shot 52% (48 of 92) to ORL's 48%, 18 of 42 from three. BOS turned it over 10 times to ORL's 21. The glass went 34-45 against them. Tatum led with 30 (11 of 22, 2 of 9 from three, 6 of 9 at the line); Pritchard added 21, White 19. The hinge was Q3, 37-27: a lead of 13 became 23. Brown was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
12/17 vs ORL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 28 and Brown at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 113, shooting 48 percent and 30 from three, 25 free throws a game; Banchero at 24 and F. Wagner at 19 a game. Without Carter Jr. (19 straight), Fultz (16 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 38 percent from three to Orlando's 30 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-2 a night and Orlando minus-3. Call it Boston 117, Orlando 110.
12/19 @ GSW — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Golden State comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 122, shooting 47 percent and 39 from three, 22 free throws a game; Curry at 24 and Thompson at 22 a game. It has won the glass by 8 a night. Without Green (3 straight), Payton II (8 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 110, shooting 50 percent and 41 from three, 19 free throws a game; Tatum at 26 and Brown at 23 a game. That is 5 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, on the road, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 110 a night to Golden State's 122 and the glass, where Golden State has been plus-8 a night and Boston plus-1. Call it Boston 118, Golden State 115, Golden State keeping it close.
12/20 @ SAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Sacramento comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 119, shooting 50 percent and 43 from three, 20 free throws a game; Fox at 28 and Murray at 26 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 112, shooting 47 percent and 38 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 25 and Tatum at 24 a game. Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Sacramento wins, and the game turns on the defense, Boston allowing 112 a night to Sacramento's 119 and the arc, Sacramento at 43 percent from three to Boston's 38. Call it Sacramento 118, Boston 117, Boston keeping it close.
12/23 @ LAC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
The Clippers come in 4-1 over their last five, scoring 130 a night and allowing 121, shooting 54 percent and 43 from three, 25 free throws a game; Leonard at 30 and George at 25 a game. They have won the glass by 4 a night. Without Tucker (12 straight). One day's rest. Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 126 a night and allowing 113, shooting 49 percent and 41 from three, 18 free throws a game; Brown at 25 and Tatum at 24 a game. 2 days' rest.
So: The Clippers win, and the game turns on the line, where the Clippers take 25 free throws a game to Boston's 18 and the defense, Boston allowing 113 a night to the Clippers' 121. Call it the Clippers 119, Boston 118, Boston keeping it close.
12/02 @ BKN 101-129 — ORL notes
ORL lost 101-129. ORL shot 40% (35 of 88) to BKN's 51%, 9 of 29 from three. The glass went 37-57 against them. F. Wagner led with 20 (6 of 16, 2 of 3 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Anthony added 20, Banchero 19. Q3 was theirs, 34-25, the deficit cut from 22 to 13, but the other 3 periods went 104-67 against them. Anthony's -32 in 31 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/06 @ CLE 111-121 — ORL notes
ORL lost 111-121. ORL shot 49% (41 of 84) to CLE's 53%, 2 of 23 from three, and went to the line 37 times to CLE's 20 — 27 points from the stripe to their 15. Banchero led with 42 (16 of 26, 1 of 5 from three, 9 of 12 at the line); Anthony added 19, F. Wagner 14. Q2 was theirs, 32-28, the deficit cut from 17 to 13, but the other 3 periods went 93-79 against them. Houstan's -13 in 11 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/08 vs DET 123-91 — ORL notes
ORL won 123-91. ORL shot 55% (49 of 89) to DET's 42%, 10 of 26 from three. ORL turned it over 9 times to DET's 15. F. Wagner led with 27 (12 of 20, 2 of 4 from three); Banchero added 24, Anthony 16. The hinge was Q3, 35-24: a lead of 14 became 25, and the lead reached 34. Bitadze was the night's best plus/minus at +26.
12/11 vs CLE 104-94 — ORL notes
ORL won 104-94. ORL shot 46% (39 of 84) to CLE's 35%, 7 of 26 from three, and got to the line 25 times to CLE's 33. Banchero led with 20 (9 of 21, 0 of 3 from three); F. Wagner added 19, Bitadze 15. The hinge was Q3, 30-15: ORL came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 12, and the lead reached 18. ORL trailed 51-54 at the half and won the second half 53-40. Black was the night's best plus/minus at +12.
12/15 @ BOS 111-128 — ORL notes
ORL lost 111-128. ORL shot 48% (42 of 87) to BOS's 52%, 14 of 35 from three. ORL turned it over 21 times to BOS's 10, and BOS turned those into 14 steals. The glass went 45-34 for them. Suggs led with 19 (7 of 12, 5 of 9 from three); F. Wagner added 17, Anthony 17. Q4 was theirs, 33-27, the deficit cut from 23 to 17, but the other 3 periods went 101-78 against them. Banchero's -13 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/17 @ BOS — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Boston comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 115, shooting 50 percent and 38 from three, 20 free throws a game; Tatum at 28 and Brown at 22 a game. That is 4 straight wins. One day's rest. Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 110 a night and allowing 113, shooting 48 percent and 30 from three, 25 free throws a game; Banchero at 24 and F. Wagner at 19 a game. Without Carter Jr. (19 straight), Fultz (16 straight). One day's rest.
So: Boston wins, and the game turns on the arc, Boston at 38 percent from three to Orlando's 30 and the glass, where Boston has been plus-2 a night and Orlando minus-3. Call it Boston 117, Orlando 110.
12/20 vs MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 109 a night and allowing 110, shooting 47 percent and 30 from three, 25 free throws a game; Banchero at 27 and F. Wagner at 17 a game. Without Carter Jr. (20 straight), Fultz (17 straight). 2 days' rest. Miami comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 114, shooting 48 percent and 42 from three, 26 free throws a game; Butler III at 20 and Jaquez Jr. at 17 a game. Without Jović (6 straight). One day's rest.
So: Orlando wins, and the game turns on the arc, Miami at 42 percent from three to Orlando's 30 and the glass, where Miami has been plus-3 a night and Orlando minus-2. Call it Orlando 113, Miami 111, Miami keeping it close.
12/21 @ MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Milwaukee comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 136 a night and allowing 121, shooting 52 percent and 38 from three, 33 free throws a game; Antetokounmpo at 31 and Lillard at 29 a game. That is 5 straight wins. Without Crowder (18 straight). One day's rest. Orlando comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 108 a night and allowing 108, shooting 47 percent and 32 from three, 21 free throws a game; Banchero at 21 and F. Wagner at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Fultz (18 straight), Ingles (2 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Milwaukee wins, and the game turns on the line, where Milwaukee takes 33 free throws a game to Orlando's 21 and the defense, Orlando allowing 108 a night to Milwaukee's 121. Call it Milwaukee 122, Orlando 113.
12/23 @ IND — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Indiana comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 129, shooting 50 percent and 37 from three, 19 free throws a game; Haliburton at 16 and Nesmith at 15 a game. Without Sheppard (3 straight). One day's rest. Orlando comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 106 a night and allowing 114, shooting 45 percent and 30 from three, 22 free throws a game; Banchero at 21 and F. Wagner at 18 a game. That is 4 straight losses. Without Fultz (19 straight), Ingles (3 straight). One day's rest.
So: Indiana wins, and the game turns on the defense, Orlando allowing 114 a night to Indiana's 129 and the arc, Indiana at 37 percent from three to Orlando's 30. Call it Indiana 119, Orlando 118, Orlando keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
ORLAB A. Black
AS A. Schofield
CA C. Anthony
CH C. Houstan
CO C. Okeke
FW F. Wagner
GB G. Bitadze
GH G. Harris
JH J. Howard
JI J. Ingles
JI J. Isaac
JS J. Suggs
MW M. Wagner
PB P. Banchero
BOSDW D. White
JB J. Brown
JH J. Holiday
JT J. Tatum
LS L. Stevens
NQ N. Queta
OB O. Brissett
PP P. Pritchard
SH S. Hauser
SM S. Mykhailiuk
ORL/BOS the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Celtics beat Magic 128-111, remain unbeaten in Boston for the season
BOSTON -- — The Boston Celtics keep winning at home.
And this time they did it without their top three big men.
Jayson Tatum scored 30 points, Payton Pritchard added 21 off the bench and the Celtics remained unbeaten in Boston this season with a 128-111 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night. The Celtics were playing on back-to-back nights — their third game in four days — and without Kristaps Porzingis , Al Horford and even Luke Kornet .
“We had to change our game a little bit,” said Pritchard, who went 6 for 7 from 3-point range and led a bench that outscored Orlando's 47-28. “When you have guys like KP and Al and we get in half-court sets, we need them for sure. But not having them we had to .. use our speed to our advantage.”
Porzingis and Kornet were scratched with muscle tightness, and the 37-year-old Horford got the night off after playing 23 minutes in Thursday night’s win over Cleveland.
The victory was the Celtics’ 13th straight in Boston — the second-longest streak to start a season in franchise history. Bill Russell , Bob Cousy and Tommy Heinsohn led Boston to 17 home wins in a row to open the 1957-58 season.
The Celtics have not lost at home in 20 regular-season games dating to March 5 of last season. (They did lose in last season’s playoffs, including a Game 7 to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals.)
“We’ve dropped some games that we should have, or we didn’t want to, over the years at home,” said Jaylen Brown , who scored 18. “The mentality is: You can’t skip any steps. Every shootaround, every practice, every warmup, any time you’re walking to the bus, you’ve got to be aware of what the job is, what the ultimate goal is, and what our mission is. ... I think that’s why we’ve been able to have such a good run at home.”
Derrick White scored 19 points with eight assists and four steals, Sam Hauser also had four steals and Neemias Queta — Boston’s only available 7-footer — blocked three shots. Six-foot-6 Lamar Stevens started at center, and Neemias Queta, playing in his fourth game of the year, blocked three shots.
“It’s great for them when they get their opportunity, they come out and they ball,” Brown said. “Games like this are big for those guys.”
Jalen Suggs scored 19 points and Goga Bitadze had 15 points and 11 rebounds for the Magic, who had beaten the Celtics four times in a row. One of them was an In-Season Tournament game in Orlando – Boston’s only loss in the group stage.
The Celtics missed their first eight 3-point attempts before Pritchard sank one with five minutes left in the first quarter to cut a six-point deficit in half. He added another 30 seconds later and one more as the final basket of the quarter during an 18-7 closing run that gave Boston a 30-24 lead.
Orlando came within one point early in the second on back-to-back 3s by Cole Anthony before Boston scored 16 of the next 21 points to pull away. The Celtics led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter and 25 points in the third.