The Celtics sparkled on both sides of the ball, shooting 52.5 percent, led by Jayson Tatum’s 30 points, and then smothering the physical Magic defensively, holding Orlando to 40 points and 35 percent shooting in the second half.

It was a rare blowout win for the Celtics, which had lost three of its past five games and were 7-7 in the past 14. The defending champions had been wildly inconsistent. And when they limped into Toronto and were promptly spanked, center Kristaps Porzingis said the team lacked “energy” and “joy.”

Tatum added the team was experiencing issues. After Friday’s win, they admitted all is not completely well yet, but the response was a good sign of progress.

“It was a for sure step in the right direction,” said Porzingis, who added 23 points. “We played some good basketball. I think it was healthy for us to get an ugly loss. A little bit like a wake-up call. We’ve been up and down a little but lately and getting a loss like that really stung the way it needs to sting, and again tonight we looked like a different team.”

The difference was the energy, especially from the starting five. Before Friday, the quartet of Tatum, Porzingis, Brown, Derrick White, and Jrue Holiday was a combined minus-4 in 10 games together and had plagued the team with porous starts.

On Friday, the Celtics jumped to a 21-13 lead and never trailed after that. Every starter was at least a plus-14 with Tatum leading with a plus-24 in his 35 minutes. The ball moved early. Porzingis got involved, punishing matchups to score in the paint or get to the free throw line.

As for Brown, who scored 10 points against Toronto in 33 minutes, he tallied 13 of his 20 points in the third quarter and also added 6 assists, 6 rebounds, and 3 steals in a more engaged effort.

“I like how he was thoroughly intense,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I think that’s important for us. He brings a different level of mentality to us at times, and I thought tonight he brought a great level of intensity. He had 20 on 12 shots and he has the ability to impact the game without shooting. He just impacted it many different ways.”

Prior to the game, Mazzulla said his team should consider the process of returning to 2023-24 form enjoyable. The past month has been the most adversity this team has faced in nearly two years, and there has been a definitive challenge in re-integrating Porzingis into the offense as well as gaining more defensive consistency.

Against the Magic, the Celtics sent constant doubles at hulking forward Paolo Banchero, playing his fourth game after missing more than two months with an oblique strain. He scored 21 points for Orlando but it required 20 shots.

Orlando scored the first 5 points in the second half to reduce the deficit to 66-57, but the Celtics countered with a 14-2 run with all the points by Porzingis and Tatum for a 19-point lead. Brown followed that with 13 points in a 3:22 span to extend the lead to 96-76.

Brown made all nine of his free throws in that span and aggressively capitalized on his post-ups, using his physicality to attack the rim and ensuring the Celtics would flourish with Tatum off the floor, which has been a problem this season.

In their previous meeting Dec. 23, the Magic held the Celtics to their lowest 3-point attempts of the season at 33. Orlando followed the same script by chasing shooters off the 3-point line, but this time the Celtics capitalized on their opportunities, making 17 of 37. In one second half sequence, the Celtics played four out (four players beyond the 3-point line) and made three passes around the perimeter before Brown took an open 3-point shot in front of the Magic bench.

The shot missed, but the ball movement and the hunt for the right shot was reminiscent of the Celtics basketball Mazzulla is looking to recapture.

“That has happened, even when it hasn’t gone well for us,” Mazzulla said. “I think it’s about understanding we have to continue to make those plays regardless of if it’s going well or not. That, to me, is sticking to the process. It’s a matter of building on those and being more consistent with it.”

Gary Washburn is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at [email protected]. Follow him @GwashburnGlobe.