BOSTON — The Celtics beat the shorthanded Magic 138-129 on Sunday at TD Garden, bouncing back from their worst loss of the year. The C’s improved to 9-8 on the season while the Magic dropped to 10-8.
While the Magic hung around early, it was all Celtics as they scored 80 points in the first half, just the 10th time in franchise history they’ve put up that many points in a half. The Celtics’ lead ballooned all the way to 26 points Sunday. But the Magic bench players had a spirited showing in the fourth quarter, getting the C’s lead down to six points to force Boston’s starters to finish out the game.
The Celtics will also wait for Neemias Queta’s status. The big man suffered a left ankle sprain in the first quarter, forcing him to miss the rest of the night. He’s been one of their important players this season, so how severe the ankle sprain is will be worth monitoring.
The Magic bounced back from a slow start to the season, winning six of their last seven games. But they were down multiple contributors Sunday, including three starters and All-Star Paolo Banchero. They also beat the Knicks the night before, so they were on the second game of a back-to-back.
Jaylen Brown had 35 points and eight assists to lead the C’s while Anfernee Simons had 23 points off the bench to stay hot. Magic reserves Jett Howard had 30 points and seven rebounds and Jase Richardson scored 18 points to lead the Orlando charge at the end.
The Celtics face the East-best Pistons next at 5 p.m. Wednesday at TD Garden. Here are four takeaways from Boston’s win over Orlando:
Life without a starter: Queta has been crucial for the Celtics this season, so the big man missing any time will have a massive impact. The C’s have enjoyed solid health through the early portions of the season. It’s unclear how severe Queta’s injury is at this point. He finished with six points and two rebounds in six minutes of play. The Celtics leaned on Chris Boucher and Josh Minott at the center spot for stretches Sunday, which appeared to be the plan even with Queta banged up and missing most of the night. Minott got the start for Queta at center to open the second half. Luka Garza didn’t get into the game as he’s served as the primary backup most nights. The Celtics also went small to finish out the victory with Queta unavailable.
Fending off: The Magic starters called it an early night as they were on the second game of a back-to-back. But that didn’t mean the game was over for Orlando. The Magic reserves, led by Howard, Richardson and Noah Penda, all stepped up in the fourth quarter. It looked like the C’s could unload their bench early by maintaining a big lead, but they couldn’t generate enough consistent stops in the fourth quarter. Part of that was missing Queta as the Celtics had to unexpectedly execute down the stretch Sunday.
Staying hot: Simons built off his performance against the Nets, looking more and more comfortable offensively. He finished with 23 points and five rebounds, shooting 8-for-11 from the field and 4-for-7 on 3-pointers. Simons serves an important role on the bench as a scorer, and all that offensive production goes a long way for the Celtics. While there are some games where Simons doesn’t play much or is invisible, that hasn’t been the case recently at least.
Bench contributions: It wasn’t just Simons providing a boost for the Celtics. Minott had 16 points and seven rebounds on 7-for-8 shooting, including 2-for-3 on 3-pointers. The wing has been a pleasant surprise to open the season. Sam Hauser also continued to get out of his shooting funk, hitting 4-for-7 of his 3-pointers on the night for 14 points. Elsewhere, Boucher played in his first game since the blowout Nov. 12 win over the Grizzlies.
If you purchase a product or register for an account through a link on our site, we may receive compensation. By using this site, you consent to our User Agreement and agree that your clicks, interactions, and personal information may be collected, recorded, and/or stored by us and social media and other third-party partners in accordance with our Privacy Policy.