Without top scorer Tatum, Boston was pushed against Miami, and Houston leveled the series with the Golden State Warriors.
Bloody and wounded defending champion Boston Celtics have been a long-lasting seizure of NBA Playoffs Series commands in Orlando.
Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 36 points as the Celtics overcome the absence of key scorer Jason Tatum in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference’s first round series.
Kristaps Porzingis added 20 points and 10 rebounds to the second-seeded Celtics.
“He’s been great and consistent throughout the season,” Celtics coach Joe Matzla said of Brown. “He can take it to another level, both mentally and physically, and he did it for his team tonight. At the end of the day, he is willing to do whatever it takes to win.”
Orlando used an 8-0 run to pull within five points early in the fourth quarter, but the Magic never came close.
“I thought we played with a lot of hearts and a lot of characters,” said magic forward Franz Wagner. “We did a lot of runs in the game.”
Tatum, who averaged 26.8 points per game during the regular season, did not play in Game 2 due to bone bruises. He was knocked to the floor while driving to the basket in the fourth quarter of Boston’s 103-86 Game 1 victory. Tatum returned to the game, but was listed as “suspecting” in Game 2 before the team’s final injury report officially ruled out him.
Derrick White (17), Payton Pritchard (14) and Jrue Holiday (11) also scored in double digits for the Celtics.
The series will shift to Orlando, Game 3, which will take place on Friday.
“Until the home team loses, it won’t be a series…” Magic coach Jammer Mosley said. “Our crowd is one of the best in the league. That energy is what we need.”
In other games, East Top Seed Cleveland visited Miami 121-112, with Donovan Mitchell earning 17 of 30 points in the fourth quarter, earning the 2-0 series edge in Game 3 on Saturday in Miami.
In Houston, Jalen Green scored 38 points, and the host Rockets defeated the Golden State Warriors 109-94, leveling up the Western Conference Series 1-1 in Game 3 in San Francisco on Saturday.
Making the night even more painful for the seventh seed warriors was putting Jimmy Butler III on pelvic conscience later in the first quarter. He missed the rest of the game and headed for the MRI exam.
“Jimmy always says he’s getting better,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “But we have to wait and see at the MRI.”
Second-seed Houston never followed, building a lead of up to 20 points in the second half, responding to all Golden State Rally efforts.
“Houston played great,” Kerr said. “They were really physical. They came out with a lot of defensive force. …It was their night. They played a great game on both ends of the floor.”
Without a versatile butler on the floor, Golden State relied heavily on three-point shooting, going from long range to 17-43 (39.5%). Coupled with a poor 18-11 effort at the free throw line, Golden State was unable to convened sufficient offense.
Stephen Curry led the Warriors with 20 points. Turkish star Alperen Senggan added 17 points and 16 rebounds to Houston.
🏆Playoff bracket🏆
▪§CLE, BOS Expansion Series leads to 2-0
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