Defensive tussle ahead as Celtics open title defense vs. Magic

The Boston Celtics will continue their quest to win back-to-back NBA championships Sunday when they open the playoffs against the visiting Orlando Magic.

The Celtics, who beat the Dallas Mavericks in the 2023-24 NBA Finals, are the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference and are trying to become the first franchise to win consecutive titles since Golden State did so in 2017 and '18.

Orlando beat the Atlanta Hawks 120-95 in the play-in tournament to earn the No. 7 seed and set up the best-of-seven series against Boston.

"(The Magic) have a DNA about them. They're well coached, they have a lot of depth," Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. "They've played, they've won a lot of different ways, kind of similar to us not being healthy throughout the season. So there's stuff you can take from every game. ... So really just focus on the DNA of what they do, who they are, when they're at their best, and kind of take it from there."

Orlando won two of the three meetings between the teams during the regular season, but the Celtics didn't play their starters during Orlando's 96-76 victory on April 9 because they had nothing to gain in the standings.

Jayson Tatum, Boston's leading scorer (26.8 points per game), also sat out Orlando's 108-104 win on Dec. 23 with an illness. The Celtics beat the Magic 121-94 on Jan. 17, which was the only time the teams met in Boston.

"It's a different environment in Boston," Orlando coach Jamahl Mosley said. "We know how loud it's going to be. We understand how those fans are and how they root and support for their team. We gotta be able to embrace that, but understand that we're capable of doing that on the road."

The series matches the top two defensive teams in the NBA in points allowed per game. The Magic gave up a league-best 105.5 points, while the Celtics were next best at 107.2.

Orlando (41-41) relies heavily on Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner, who both missed significant time with injuries earlier this season. Banchero averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds and 4.8 assists in 46 regular-season games, and Wagner averaged 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists in 60 games.

The series likely will be determined at the 3-point line. The Celtics (61-21) set an NBA record for made 3-pointers in a season (1,457) and are averaging 17.8 made 3-pointers per game on 48.2 attempts. Derrick White (265), Payton Pritchard (255) and Tatum (250) led the team in 3-point field goals.

Orlando was the best team in the league at limiting 3-point attempts by opponents during the regular season (31.4 per game), but ranked last among NBA teams in made 3-pointers (11.2) and 3-point percentage (31.8) per contest. However, it's worth noting that Orlando shot 36.7 percent on 3-point attempts during its final 16 games of the season.

The Celtics are 7-14 this season when they failed to make more 3-pointers than their opponent.

"I think there is still another level for us," Orlando's Jonathan Isaac said. "I think we're going to find that in the playoffs here. But it's great. We've started to shoot the ball better as of late, and this is the time you want to shoot the ball better, towards the end of the year and going into the playoffs."

The teams will play Game 2 in Boston on Wednesday before the best-of-seven series shifts to Orlando on Friday.

--Field Level Media