The Boston Celtics couldn't hit a shot, but they did a lot of other things well on their way to a 108-97 win in Orlando, their fifth win in a row after the opening-night loss in Detroit. Jayson Tatum had 32 points and he was 15-17 from the free throw line. He also had seven assists. Paul George had 17 points.

WHAT THE BOX SCORE TELLS YOU

- Turnovers killed Orlando: The Celtics scored 21 points off 18 Magic turnovers. As noted in the preview, the Magic are a turnover-prone team and the Celtics defense forces a lot of them, so this was a pregame concern for Orlando that came to pass.

- Offensive rebounds also killed Orlando: The Celtics grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and had 15 second chance points. Their ability to extend possession was crucial to building an early lead. Even if some of the chances never turned into buckets, just crashing and extending possessions is important.

- Jayson Tatum is still very good: 32 points on the night, powered by a 15-17 night at the line. He got fouled on three three-pointers, which accounted for nine of those attempts.

- They won despite shooting HORRIBLY: You won’t look at a lot of winning Celtics box scores and see 27.3% shooting from deep. Those have mostly been losses in the past, but all the other stuff they did negated the terrible shooting. Also, they shot 4-9 from three in the fourth, so even though the overall number is putrid, they did manage some timely makes.

WHAT THE BOX SCORE WON’T TELL YOU

- Tatum took over with no hero ball: The Celtics pulled away in the fourth thanks to Tatum, but the numbers won’t jump off the page (4 points, 2 assists in the fourth). Joe Mazzulla went a few extra minutes with a non-Tatum lineup that had been playing well, so he only played 4:13, but he hit two left elbow jumpers, found Neemias Queta on the block, and then hit Paul George for three. 

He made every right play and never held the ball too long. It was a nearly perfect four minutes of basketball. 

- The Celtics settled themselves down: The Magic started on a 13-4 run, but Mazzulla didn’t call a timeout. The Celtics instead answered with a 7-0 run. They came all the way back to take a first-quarter lead and build a double-digit lead in the second. 

A lot of people will scream when Mazzulla doesn’t call a timeout during a run, but timeouts don’t always work, and sometimes letting them play does. 

The Celtics were out-working the Magic: This easily could have turned into a demoralizing loss. I’ve seen a million games where poor shooting turns into defensive mistakes, but not today. The Celtics not only kept their heads up, they were getting most 50/50 balls.   

It was highlighted by another wild diving loose ball play by Sam Hauser. He’s making hustle plays his thing right now.

- Neemias Queta thrived in the short roll: Getting the ball to Queta around the top of the key/free throw line area is a good idea. 

NEEMIAS QUETA THROWS IT DOWN!! 🔨🔨🔨 pic.twitter.com/nW0JQGm9Qq

— Danielle H. (@DanielleHobeika) November 1, 2026

That play turned into a dunk, but Queta also found Paul George for a three early in the third quarter on that same kind of play. 

Queta is very good in that area, and has a variety of options. He’ll take the lane if it’s given to him, but he can also pull up for a little floater that's very reliable. If a defense reacts to him, he can spray it to the corners for good looks.  

-  Jayson Tatum left elbow jumpers a thing now?: I’m only saying this because it’s where he hit the game-winner against Brooklyn, but he hit three more from that spot in this game, two of them during his clutch fourth-quarter run. Toss in a couple of Dirk Nowitzki-type fadeaways from a similar area and it’s looking like that left side of the floor is becoming a comfort zone.

- This finish by Payton Pritchard was incredible: 

PP so tuff 😤 pic.twitter.com/rwb8OtRhXA

— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 1, 2026

It was also super-clutch. That broke a 79-79 tie and gave the Celtics the lead for good.

- Things to keep in the back of our heads: Jayson Tatum left the game to get his head stitched after knocking heads with a Magic defender. He was fine after that. Payton Pritchard fell hard and was grabbing at his shoulder, but he finished the game.