Celtics-Magic Notebook: Jayson Tatum dominates, Jaylen Brown brings the intensity, Krisaps Porzingis is so back

BOSTON — Fresh off of what was likely their worst loss of the season — a 13-point stinker to the 10-31 Raptors — the Celtics looked to get back on track at home against the shorthanded Orlando Magic. And, from the jump, the Celtics looked like a completely different team than Wednesday’s, jumping out to a 7-point first-quarter lead that they only further extended every quarter.

Each quarter was characterized by a different Celtic — in the first, it was Kristaps Porzingis who led the way with 11 points. The second quarter was all Jayson Tatum, who recorded 15 points in the period. And, by the third quarter, Jaylen Brown caught a rhythm, finishing with 13 points in third on 8-8 from the free throw line.

Here are five observations about the 121-94 win from TD Garden.

Joe Mazzulla and the Celtics remained calm through the team’s recent skid

The outside world — the fans, the media, the pundits — has been dissecting each possible explanation for the Celtics’ recent lackluster play. Entering Friday, the Celtics had dropped 7 of their previous 14 games, a stretch that included losses to the Raptors, Kings, Bulls, and 76ers.

But, while spectators searched for answers, the Celtics themselves have seemed to simply accept that lulls happen.

At shootaround Friday, Jrue Holiday shrugged when asked why he thought the Celtics were struggling.

“Sometimes you just go through it,” Holiday said. “I’m pretty sure people in life just go through it — you’re not really sure what it is. You try to stay as consistent as possible, doing the right things, and eventually that will carry out in a good way.”

Pregame, Joe Mazzulla echoed that sentiment — and shared that the Celtics were embracing the challenge of having things not go their way.

“This is why you do what you do,” Mazzulla said. “This is why you play for the Celtics. This is why you play in the NBA. This is why you go after something that’s extremely hard to do — is for the challenge of it. And to have an expectation of it being anything other than challenging is the wrong way to attack it.”

Jayson Tatum puts together a surgical offensive performance

The response from the Celtics couldn’t have been much better, and a lot of that was thanks to the strong performance of Jayson Tatum.

Tatum’s stat line wasn’t too dissimilar from his season averages — he finished with 30 points on 12-21 shooting, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals— but his offensive approach was exquisite.

He did most of his damage in the second quarter, exploding for 15 points on 7-11 shooting and helping the Celtics build a double-digit lead that only continued to grow in the second half. Notably, all but one of Tatum’s second-quarter baskets were two-point field goals — including a slew of pretty drives to the basket and midrange shots over close friend Paolo Banchero. Fittingly, Tatum was also a team-best +24 in his 35 minutes of action.

“I think we are in a good spot,” Tatum said. “We’ve had to play most of our season with different guys in the lineup and not everybody being healthy. It’s kind of like start of the season right now.”

Jaylen Brown brings critical energy in the victory

Brown was primarily focused on the defensive end from the jump, shooting only five shots in the first half but playing lockdown defense and finishing with three steals on the night.

The third quarter was Brown’s time to shine on the offensive end, too. He scored 13 points in that period and finished the night with 20 points on 5-12 shooting, alongside 6 assists, and 6 rebounds.

“I liked just how he was thoroughly intense,” Mazzulla said. “That’s important for us. He brings a different level of mentality to us at times. And I thought tonight, he brought a great level of intensity.”

Postgame, Brown — who is averaging a career-best 4.8 assists per game — told NBC Sports Boston’s Abby Chin that he’s adjusted into more of a playmaking role this season.

“I just do what the team needs me to do,” Brown said. “I’ve been able to evolve through different things in my career. This team, I’m more of a playmaker, so I just embrace it and get better in that role and do what I do.”

Kristaps Porzingis is so back

After missing the first stretch of the season recovering from ankle surgery, Porzingis has now played in seven straight games — by far his longest stretch of the season — and he’s beginning to look like the same high-impact player that was one of the league’s top post players for much of last season. He finished with 23 points on 7-10 shooting, and made his first six shots in this one.

Postgame, Al Horford also credited Porzingis for his impact on the defensive end: “KP did a great job protecting the rim for us.”

Porzingis was much more upbeat postgame than he was after the loss to the Raptors — after which he lamented that the Celtics played without any “spirit or personality.”

“Today, we looked like a completely different animal,” he said.

Porzingis, who is typically the most candid with the media after both wins and losses, also spoke to the pressure of playing in Boston — a pressure that he relishes.

“It’s an unbelievable privilege that we’re supposed to win every game,” Porzingis said. “We go into almost every game as the favorites, if not every game. It’s a weight we have to carry, a little bit pressure that we have to carry. But that’s expected with this. We have to take it face on and keep building and keep making us and the betting companies and everyone think that we’re going to be the favorite in every game we go into.”

So far this season, he’s averaging 18.5 points on 45.5% shooting (37% from three) and 7.3 rebounds. But that’s been trending upwards, and in January, Porzingis shooting a team-best 45.5% from three.

The three-pointers are finally falling

The Celtics were way past due for a strong three-point shooting performance. Facing the Magic, who have the NBA’s third-best defensive rating, the Celtics hit 17 of 37 three-point attempts, good for 45.9% shooting. The outside shooting was a total team effort; Tatum hit 4-9 from three, Porzingis 3-5, Holiday 3-6, Horford 2-3, and Hauser 2-4.

“Today, from a rhythm perspective, was a good game,” Porzingis said. “We were not shooting a crazy amount of threes, but we were shooting the right ones. Immediately, our percentages were up.”

So far this season, the Celtics have the 15th-best three-point percentage in the NBA, at 36.3%. Last season, they shot 38.8% from downtown, which was the 2nd-best percentage in the league. Stringing together several good shooting performances will be key to keeping the Celtics in the win column.