The Celtics have struggled with the Magic in recent years, having dropped four straight contests to them heading into Friday’s game at the TD Garden. The excuses were numerous for Boston entering the matchup with a back-to-back game mixed in with the team missing their top three centers for the contest. Those obstacles did not slow down the Celtics though as they dominated the 128-111 win over the Magic for the final three quarters.
After the victory, Jaylen Brown explained just how critical the win was for Boston as they improved to 13-0 on the year at home.
“I think this is the biggest game of the year so far,” Brown said. “In my opinion, for us, I think one we had a bunch of guys out and were on a back-to-back versus a team that’s been kicking our ass the last four or five times we played. I think this was the biggest game to me so far.”
Brown played through some right knee hypertension to post 18 points in the victory and raved about the effort he saw from his teammates in the performance.
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“I think we came out, even though they came out swinging like the first shot they took was a three,” Brown said. “Suggs hit it on the left wing was tough, it was well defended but he made it, you know, and that can kind of be discouraging in that time, so it was like, oh it’s gonna be a long night. But we took those punches and kept throwing punches back and that’s what we wanna, you know, instill in our guys. We fight, we make it hard for you, we play the game the right way.”
Joe Mazzulla also credited the Celtics veteran leaders including Brown for fueling the win against a fast rising East rival that had blown out Boston last month.
“I probably don’t have to do it too much, but the guys know,” Mazzulla said of whether he tried to add any extra motivation before the win. “I mean, this is a team that’s well-coached, that is tough, that has played us very well the last four or five times we played them, and they’re going to play us really well, and I expect Sunday’s game to be extremely harder than tonight’s game was, so I don’t think you have to tell them. But it just says a lot to the guys to come on back-to-back short-handed and bring the right mindset, and the right intensity. I think it says more about us than it does about anything else.”
The Celtics and Magic will face off in a rematch on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET at TD Garden.
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