"Brown has mastered the art of getting his shoulders around a defender and carving out space where he wants to go. His much-maligned handle looks elite. His finishing has been pin-point precise. He's barely hitting the rim when he shoots from mid-range. His third-quarter run on Friday was some true All-NBA-quality basketball - not for the first time this year, and not the kind of All-NBA run where you need a couple of injuries to make the third team."
"Brown was great - 32 points on 15-for-28 shooting - but he was 1-for-6 from three. That's not a problem by itself, but even a player with Brown's punishing offseason workout schedule wears down eventually, and when he got tired or stuck on Friday, his 3-point shooting couldn't bail the Celtics out. Neither could Sam Hauser (1-for-5) or Derrick White (1-for-6), and while Anfernee Simons finished 3-for-6, he couldn't find the range until the fourth quarter."
"Meanwhile, the Magic looked a little like last year's Celtics - they made 17 3-pointers, finishing 17-for-36 (47.2 percent) from deep. While Brown tried to lead a comeback inside the arc, the Magic staved them off from outside it. That, unfortunately for the Celtics, is a winning formula that Joe Mazzulla has employed often, but which got reversed on Friday."
Boston gave up 38 and 39 in the first and fourth quarters, respectively. The Magic beat the Celtics 123-110, handing the Celtics their first NBA Cup defeat. Jaylen Brown scored 32 points on 15-for-28 shooting but went 1-for-6 from three, and teammates Sam Hauser and Derrick White struggled from deep. The Magic made 17 three-pointers, finishing 17-for-36 (47.2 percent). Most of Boston's offense came inside the arc, making comebacks difficult when outside shooting faltered. The Celtics' centers and defense were insufficient, with Neemias Queta the only starter finishing with a positive plus-minus.
Read at Boston.com
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