Coming off a 113-105 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in the NBA Cup on Friday, the Celtics (9-8) caught fire with 80 points in the first half and held off a late comeback on the way to a 138-129 win against the Orlando Magic (10-8) on Sunday night. It was the third matchup of the season between the two Eastern Conference foes.
The Celtics were led by Jaylen Brown with 35 points (14/26 FG) and eight assists, while the Magic had their top contributions come from Jett Howard with a career-high 30 points (11/23
FG). All 11 Celtics that made an appearance registered at least a point while Brown, Anfernee Simons (23 points), Payton Pritchard (19), Derrick White (16), Josh Minott (16) and Sam Hauser (14) all scored in double figures.
The Magic were shorthanded entering the contest, going without Wendell Carter, Paolo Banchero and Jalen Suggs on Sunday.
The Celtics got a quick six points from Neemias Queta in the first minutes of the game, each assisted by a different Celtic, but he left midway through the opening quarter after landing awkwardly on a contest at the rim. The Celtics went small with Chris Boucher, and the offense hit its first three triples of the game on three straight possessions, two coming from Sam Hauser and another from Anfernee Simons for a 22-15 lead with five minutes left.
Despite being without Queta due to a sprained ankle and Brown leaving with early foul trouble, the Celtics maintained their early advantage into the second quarter, leading 32-27 behind Simons’ eight early points. The Magic struggled from the field early, shooting 38%, though they got to the line for 13 attempts, converting on nine of them.
A Derrick White deceleration and-one opened the second quarter, and hinted at further rim attacking from the Celtics against a Magic defense with high pickup points at the 3-point line. Later, Simons continued his hot start, driving into his own 3-point play with a floater, and then racing down the floor off his own rebound and finishing a layup in transition.
Boston also got quality minutes from Josh Minott, who finished the first half with 12 points on a perfect 5/5 shooting, 5 rebounds and 1 block. Halfway through the second quarter, Minott had highlights on both ends, finishing one offensive possession with a double-pump baseline finish and later blocking a shot that led to a transition three from Simons.
The back half of the second quarter was all Boston. The Celtics ended the final five minutes outscoring Orlando 26-13 and shooting 18/23 (78%) from the field for the entire quarter, taking an 80-57 lead into the break. The Celtics had double-digit scorers in Simons (16), Brown (14), Pritchard (13) and Minott (12) entering halftime.
Coming out of halftime with a small ball frontcourt of Minott and Jordan Walsh, the Celtics kept their lead above 20 points for almost the entire third quarter, only dropping to 18 with 25 seconds left on a Noah Penda and-one. Hauser hit a catch-and-shoot three on the other end to immediately push it back to 21 before the end of quarter for a 110-89 lead.
Brown was dominant in the third quarter, consistently getting downhill to the tune of eight points to help Boston to a 21-point lead entering the fourth quarter. On two occasions, Brown fooled his defender with an up-fake step-through move to get to the basket, utilizing the threat of his mid-range jumper to get defenders off their feet.
The Magic stormed back in the fourth quarter with a scoring flurry from rookie Jase Richardson and forward Jett Howard, bringing Boston’s lead down to 11 with 6:24 left. Brown temporarily silenced the run with a pair of corner threes and a layup out of the timeout, but Richardson and Howard responded each time to keep Orlando’s comeback hopes alive with four minutes to play.
Orlando got the deficit under 10 with a Howard 3-point play, cutting it down to 129-121. Brown answered right back, driving down the middle of the lane to bring it back to a 10-point lead with three minutes remaining. Howard and Brown continued to handle the bulk of their team’s respective possessions, with Howard scoring 22 fourth quarter points and having a chance to make it a one-possession game in the final minute, but his step-back three didn’t fall, and the Celtics survived a Sunday night scare.
The Celtics will be back on their home floor on Wednesday, when they take on the scorching-hot Detroit Pistons on November 26 at 5 p.m. The East-leading Pistons won their first meeting of the season against the Celtics on October 26, 119-113.
