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CELTICS 118, MAGIC 103

Celtics get moving again, roll past Magic

Jayson Tatum and the Celtics had a lot of open jumpers in their rout of Orlando.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff

When a team wins 16 games in a row, it can be less impactful when its flaws are pointed out. For the Celtics, their dominant streak helped them conceal an offense that has been below-average overall, and abysmal in the first halves of games.

So when their run was snapped in Miami on Wednesday, perhaps it gave coach Brad Stevens some ammunition for a reset. In the first halves this season the Celtics had made just 40.5 percent of their shots, the second-worst mark in the NBA. Sure, they had missed plenty of open looks, but the more pressing issue was their stagnancy.

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Boston’s offense — and any offense, really — is at its best when the ball is being whipped from end to end, and inside and out, with great urgency and precision.

Even though it was just one game, and even though it was against the reeling Magic, the Celtics showed promise with their early and crisp offensive assault, as they used a devastating first-half surge to take a comfortable 118-103 win at TD Garden Friday night.

“Beautiful basketball,” point guard Kyrie Irving said. “Beautiful basketball when the game is played the right way. Not saying we haven’t been doing it, but it was going side to side, and guys were driving and kicking and getting to spots where we needed to be. It was beautiful to watch and beautiful to be a part of.”

Boston shot 68.2 percent from the field in the opening quarter and led by as many as 32 points before Orlando made the score somewhat less lopsided by chipping away against the Celtics’ reserves in the fourth. But there was never a time when a comeback seemed possible. The Magic, who were seen as a plucky upstart at the start of this season, have lost seven games in a row.

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Irving continued his scorching play. He had 30 points on 9-of-15 shooting in just 25 minutes, and over the past four games he has made 46 of 71 shots (64.8 percent). Terry Rozier, who had been mired in a 6-for-29 slump over the past five games, exploded for a career-high 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting.

“I’m not perfect,” Rozier said. “I’m going to have tough games and I’m going to have games like this. It just feels good. I want to build off of it.”

While Irving and Rozier poured in points, Al Horford truly ignited the offense despite taking only five shots. Stevens has consistently insisted that the Celtics are at their best when much of the offense runs through Horford.

His size, passing skills, and shooting ability make him a tricky matchup. And the center was essential at the start, dishing out seven assists over the first nine minutes. He finished with 10 assists, tying a career high.

When teams switch on screens, Horford has often found himself guarded by a small forward. This creates a mismatch elsewhere — sometimes on the other side of the court — and it is important for the Celtics to move the ball quickly and find it. On Friday, they did.

“I thought all night long, his ability to handle the ball, his ability to pass the ball, was a real benefit to us,” Stevens said.

Stevens has said that he did not pay attention to the Celtics’ winning streak, and he said he never even heard the players talking about it. They have acknowledged that they talked about it, though, and really there was good reason to.

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Boston had won 16 games in a row and was within striking distance of breaking the franchise-record 19-game streak. The players were enjoying the run, the attention and, most of all, the early move in the standings. But sometimes a run like that can also become a burden. On Friday, with the streak over, the Celtics were playing as freely on offense as they did at any point during their run. It was a fresh start for a dominant team.

“It was good to kind of have that humbling experience of being down [against Miami], understand that we can’t play like that, and we have to come out like this,” Irving said, “[We played] with a whole bunch of energy that we needed in the first half that really gave us some life.”

The Celtics jumped on the Magic quickly, making 12 of their first 16 shots and 6 of their first 8 3-pointers. Back-to-back threes by Horford and Rozier gave Boston a 33-22 lead.

The Celtics ended the first quarter with an alley-oop from Marcus Smart to Aron Baynes, and then started the second quarter the same way. In all, Boston had assists on 21 of 28 first-half baskets.

Scoring was balanced, with some coming from expected sources such as Irving and more coming from struggling bench players such as Rozier, who was 5 of 7 for 13 points in the first half.

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By halftime, the Celtics had stretched their lead to 73-47, erasing any concern that their first loss since mid-October would possibly mushroom into something more. Boston led by as many as 32 points in the third quarter, allowing the starters to get some rest with Saturday’s game against the Pacers looming.

The Magic clawed back, pulling within 104-88 against Boston’s second- and third-teamers. But Boston was never really in danger.

“For us to do that after a loss,” Irving said, “we’re just continuously building our identity and character.”

Celtics guard Terry Rozier scored a career-high 23 points. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff
It was Al Horford on the block of Orlando’s Evan Fournier in the first quarter.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff/Globe Staff
Marcus Morris kept his eyes on the ball with Orlando’s Elfrid Payton nearby.Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff/Globe Staff
Kyrie Irving (30 points on 9-of-15 shooting) had a hot hand for the Celtics. Matthew J. Lee/Globe Staff/Globe Staff

Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @adamhimmelsbach.