ORLANDO, Florida — Avery Bradley scored 23 points in leading the Boston Celtics to a 117-87 victory over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night at the Amway Center.
The Celtics (13-9) were without leading scorer Isaiah Thomas, who missed the game with a groin strain, but they still dominated the second half. The Magic (10-13) never got closer than 12 points in the fourth quarter.
Reserve guard Terry Rozier scored 16 points and grabbed five rebounds. Amir Johnson scored 13 points and grabbed five rebounds. Jae Crowder had 15 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Marcus Smart, starting in place of Thomas, scored 13 points. Rookie Jalen Brown had 13 points.
Guard D.J. Augustin led the Magic with 15 points, but he failed to score in the second half. Evan Fournier had 14 points. Nikola Vucevic, still playing as a reserve, had 12 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. Elfrid Payton had 10 points.
The Celtics, who struggled in the first half, outscored the Magic, 68-37 in the second half. They took control early in the third and the Magic never seriously challenged again.
The Celtics carried a 85-73 lead into the fourth quarter after outscoring the Magic, 36-23, in the third. The Celtics led by as many as 18 points in the third when Bradley scored 11 points.
The Magic led 50-49 at halftime after Augustin scored 10 points in the final 1:47 of the second period. Augustin led everyone in the first half with 15 points in just 11 minutes. He hit all four of his 3-point attempts before intermission.
The Magic hit their first four 3-pointers of the game when they opened an eight-point lead. The Celtics grabbed their first lead, 28-27, when rookie Jaylen Brown dunked to open the second quarter.
The Celtics made a 10-0 run midway in the second for the 44-40 lead, their largest of the first half. Bradley had 12 points in the first two quarters. The Celtics made only two of 15 3-pointers before intermission, while the Magic made eight of their 10.
NOTES: Celtics leading scorer G Isaiah Thomas (26 ppg, 6.1 apg) missed the game Wednesday because of a groin strain sustained Monday night at Houston. Thomas left the team and returned to Boston on Tuesday. The Celtics quickly summoned rookie G Demetrius Jackson, who was preparing for a D-League game with the Maine Red Claws. “It’s like coming back to your family,” Jackson said Wednesday after rejoining the Celtics. G Marcus Smart started in Thomas’ place. … This was the second contest in a four-games-in-five-nights stretch for the Magic, but the only time they will have that kind of schedule this season. “It’s a mental thing, but you can’t let the fatigue get in, and you still have to do your job and focus on the defensive end,” G Evan Fournier said. … Despite the losing record, the Magic are becoming one of the NBA’s better defensive teams. They are ranked third in blocked shots (5.73 per game) and fourth in points allowed (98 ppg). … The Magic were thrilled to hear that rookie C Stephen Zimmerman grabbed a franchise record 24 rebounds earlier in the day for their D-League team, the Erie Bay Hawks.