Key Moment
On a night during which Jaylen Brown didn’t have his best stuff, Derrick White stepped up and teamed up with Jayson Tatum to lead Boston to its third straight victory to open the season.
White and Tatum combined to score 15 straight points for Boston from the 5:55 mark to the 35-second mark of the fourth quarter, a stretch which turned a two-point deficit into a comfortable lead.
White got the run going with a driving layup before Tatum scored four straight for Boston. The two versatile Celtics then started playing a two-man game that led to consecutive buckets from White.
At the 3:39 mark, Tatum popped up to the top of the arc to set a screen for White, which allowed the guard to blow past his defender and put home an and-one layup with his left hand. He drained the free throw to make it 116-111.
A little over a minute later, Tatum drove into the paint and kicked the ball out to White, who caught the ball on the move and then went straight down the lane for what was undoubtedly one of the loudest slams of his career.
Tatum closed out the show by draining a dagger of a 3-pointer off of his patented side-step release, before tacking on a free throw. That free throw gave Boston a 122-115 lead with 35.4 seconds left.
Boston closed out the remainder of the contest by shooting 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to close out a 126-120 victory – a victory that’s due in large part to the surprising duo of White and Tatum teaming up to take down the Magic on the road.
Key Player
Jayson Tatum scored 40 points against Orlando, but the Celtics wouldn’t have grabbed the victory without an excellent performance from Derrick White.
White nearly tied his career high by dropping 27 points on the Magic on only 17 shot attempts. He shot 10-for-17 from the field overall, 5-for-9 from long distance, and 2-for-3 from the free-throw line. His career-best scoring mark narrowly remains at 29 points.
In addition to his hot scoring, White, who is starting for Boston while Robert Williams recovers from surgery, also tallied four rebounds, four assists and one steal. The Celtics outscored Orlando by seven points while he was on the floor for his nearly 37 minutes of playing time.
Box Score Nuggets
- Jayson Tatum scored a game-high 40 points on only 21 shot attempts.
- Marcus Smart dished out a game-high eight assists.
- Orlando outscored Boston 22-6 in second-chance points.
- Derrick White scored 27 points to set his new scoring high in a Celtics uniform.
- Orlando was led by 29 points from Terrence Ross, and 23 points from rookie Paulo Banchero.
- Malcolm Brogdon came off the bench to score 13 points for the C's.
- Boston made as many free throws (23) as Orlando attempted.
- Wendell Carter Jr. led the game with 12 rebounds and he notched the only double-double by also scoring 15 points.
- Sam Hauser scored nine points off the bench while shooting 3-for-4 from long distance.
- Tatum and Grant Williams each blocked two shots, but Bol Bol led the game with four swats.
Quote of the Night
"I just thought it was the difference between a judgment call and a factual call."
Joe Mazzulla on what encouraged him to use his coach's challenge, which he won