The Boston Celtics continue their winning streak on home turf, and in this instance, they achieved it without their top three big men.
Jayson Tatum notched 30 points, while Payton Pritchard contributed an additional 21 off the bench, propelling the Celtics to a flawless record in Boston this season with a convincing 128-111 triumph over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.
This victory was particularly impressive as the Celtics were playing on back-to-back nights, marking their third game in four days, and they had to navigate the contest without Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford, and Luke Kornet. Porzingis and Kornet were sidelined due to muscle tightness, while the 37-year-old Horford took a night off following his 23-minute effort in Thursday night’s win against Cleveland.
The win extended the Celtics’ home winning streak to 13 games, marking the second-longest streak to start a season in franchise history. The only precedent is the 1957-58 season when Bill Russell, Bob Cousy, and Tommy Heinsohn led Boston to 17 consecutive home victories.
Remarkably, the Celtics have not suffered a regular-season home loss in 20 games, dating back to March 5 of the previous season. It’s worth noting that while they remained unbeaten at home in the regular season, they did face playoff losses, including a Game 7 defeat to the Miami Heat in the Eastern Conference finals last season.