BOSTON – The Isaiah Thomas Mixtape Tour filmed its latest volume against the Orlando Magic in a 107-96 win for the Celtics.
It started with a spin to ballfake fadeaway, climaxed with a through the legs pass on the break and culminated with a hook shot over a seven-foot Jason Smith to ice the game with 38 second left.
The Celtics are still a lost collection of dribble handoffs and Kelly Olynyk reaching fouls without human epoxy Jae Crowder, but they have won two games in a row to end a potentially detrimental standings free fall.
Isaiah played like that former Division Three player at the Y, throwing up absurd floaters and pulling off unnecessary ball fakes that worked half the time. But when he went cold in the fourth, Avery Bradley came through with 8 of his 22 points and four of his nine rebounds on the night.
The Celtics survived a 16-point fourth quarter by hammering the Magic in the paint during the third, scoring 20 of their 35 points in the paint. Evan Turner looked like a sharpshooter for a change, knocking down jumpers from the perimeter and getting to the rim. He scored 11 in the third.