Orlando’s physicality can only take them so far

Despite some bloody elbows, Boston pulled away when it mattered most

Through two games between the Celtics and Magic, one thing has become crystal clear — throwing elbows is only going to take Orlando so far.

“We’re not going to let anyone punk us,” Kristaps Porzingis said. “We’re not going to take it. We’re going to hit them right back.”

It was well known coming in to the opening round that whether it was a push here and there or a little extra on a foul, the Magic were going to try and out-tough the Celtics.

Two games in, they may be taking things a little too far.

Late in the third quarter of Boston’s 109-100 win over Orlando, Goga Bitadze delivered a hefty left elbow to Porzingis that left him gushing blood from his forehead on the parquet. The Celtics big man would split his free throws and later return to the game to seal Wednesday’s win.

“That’s how they are going to play the whole series,” Porzingis told NBC Sports Boston. “They are going to try and muck it up.”

Fortunately for Boston, no amount of elbows or pushes will make much of a difference in its quest to eliminate Orlando. Late in the fourth quarter, the Magic had no answer offensively to match massive buckets from Jaylen Brown and Payton Pritchard, and are now heading back down to Orlando down 0-2.

“At the end of the day, you have to be able to win games in different ways,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Our guys did a good job of making winning plays throughout the game and doing whatever it took.”

Boston isn’t backing down from the fight though as in between Games 1 and 2, Al Horford was very vocal about his displeasure of Kentavious Caldwell-Pope’s foul on Jayson Tatum that ultimately left him out for the second game.

“We’re not responding to anything. We’re just playing the game,” Mazzulla said. “​​We’re out there playing, and we’re reading the environment, and then we’re just taking what the environment gives us and going from there.”

Caldwell-Pope and Horford themselves got into a scuffle Wednesday after the Magic guard tripped Horford running up the court. The Celtic big man had to be held back before walking down the other end of the court to cool off.

Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

While the play was ruled a common foul, Horford again believes there was a little something extra behind the collision.

“Yeah, it was,” Horford told the Boston Globe. “I was starting to run on the break and he got me there and impeded my progress.”

It’s clear Orlando’s physical playstyle is leaving some battle scars on the Celtics, but it’s not making much of an impact in the result of the game. In trying to make up for a lack of offensive prowess, Orlando has stooped to late pushes and knees to the thighs.

Not necessarily a formula for winning basketball.

You can expect for Orlando to continue to “muck things up,” according to Cole Anthony, despite the widespread attention the Magic seem to be drawing with their physical play style.

“Very physical game,” Porzingis said. “Tough physical game. Nothing easy on either side, every rebound is a war. It’s probably going to be that way for the rest of the series.”

The best thing for Boston would be to go down to Orlando and get two wins, ice up back home, hopefully unscathed, and get ready for Round 2.