A protracted-term damage to Neemias Queta might spell bother for the Celtics.
However for a minimum of one evening, Boston didn’t want its No. 1 heart.
The Celtics misplaced Queta, a standout in his first season as an NBA starter, to an ankle sprain halfway by way of the primary quarter Sunday however had been in a position to safe a victory over the undermanned Magic, profitable 138-129 at TD Backyard.
It was a bounce-back efficiency for the 9-8 Celtics, whose residence loss to the lowly Nets on Friday prompted Jaylen Brown to call out his team for its lack of effort and enthusiasm.
Vitality wasn’t a difficulty in opposition to Orlando. Boston shot 60.2% from the sphere, made 45.5% of its threes, scored 48 factors within the second quarter and led by 21 coming into the fourth. The Celtics needed to face up to a livid late-game rally by the Magic’s backups, nonetheless, who lower the deficit to 6 earlier than the C’s pulled away late.
Boston will host the Jap Convention-leading Pistons in an early tipoff on Wednesday (5 p.m.).
Six Celtics scored in double figures within the win, led by Brown’s 35 factors on 14-of-26 capturing. Anfernee Simons, Sam Hauser and Josh Minott mixed for 53 factors off the bench, making 10 of their 17 3-pointers. Payton Pritchard tallied 19 factors, and he and Brown every dished out eight assists.
The Magic, who had been on the second evening of a back-to-back, performed with out starters Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr., and backup heart Goga Bitadze. Bitadze was set to start out in Carter’s place, however he was scratched simply earlier than tipoff, forcing the Magic to plug in two-way participant Orlando Robinson.
Going through a smaller Orlando staff, Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla prioritized athleticism over peak after a midair collision with Magic guard Anthony Black ended Queta’s evening. He bypassed traditional backup heart Luka Garza and as a substitute inserted 6-foot-8 Chris Boucher, who had performed in simply one among Boston’s earlier seven video games.
Boston additionally performed 6-foot-8 Minott — whom Mazzulla benched in opposition to Brooklyn after a careless turnover — as a small-ball 5 for a lot of the evening. Up huge early within the fourth quarter, the Celtics went super-small, using a lineup of 5 gamers (Derrick White, Pritchard, Brown, Hauser and Jordan Walsh) who all are listed at 6-foot-7 or shorter.
Garza was a wholesome DNP for the primary time this season. Reserve huge man Xavier Tillman additionally didn’t see motion in Queta’s absence.
The Celtics and Magic had been tied when Queta walked gingerly towards the locker room with 6:09 to play within the first quarter. Quick ahead to halftime, and Boston led by 23, having piled up an eye-popping 80 factors on 64.6% capturing (52.9% from three).
How did they get there? It started with their bench. The primary three Celtics possessions after Queta’s damage produced 3-pointers by Hauser (two) and Simons. Brown then went to work with a midrange jumper, a drawn foul and a driving layup (and a technical foul for arguing) earlier than Simons closed the quarter with one other three and a floater.
It was Simons’ second huge sport in opposition to the Magic this season. Boston’s sixth man additionally scored 25 first-half factors in a Nov. 9 win at Orlando.
Hauser’s 4-for-7 displaying from past the arc was a return to type for the scuffling Celtics mainstay, who’d made simply seven of his earlier 42 3-point makes an attempt.
Up 32-27 after one, the Celtics exploded in a hyper-efficient second quarter. How environment friendly? Boston tried 22 subject targets within the interval and made 18 of them. 5 of these makes (on 5 photographs) got here from Minott, who hit two threes and threw down a pair of dunks off feeds from Pritchard and Brown.
After Minott’s second slam, Pritchard broke the sport open by swiping two steals in 10 seconds and scoring off each — a fast-break layup and a nook three arrange by a Hugo Gonzalez help. These 5 fast factors put the Celtics up 66-49.
Pritchard managed the ultimate minute of the primary half, as properly. After White hit his first 3-pointer of the evening, his backcourt associate notched a steal, an help and two buckets within the final 57.3 seconds earlier than halftime, capped by a midrange pull-up that made it 80-59. It was simply the tenth time in franchise historical past that Boston scored 80 factors in a primary half, in response to the staff.
The Celtics acquired by way of the third quarter with out incident, however they needed to maintain off a relentless fourth-quarter comeback effort led by Orlando reserves Jett Howard (30 factors) and Jase Richardson (18 factors). The Magic outscored the C’s 40-28 within the closing 12 minutes, however Boston survived due to 13 fourth-quarter factors from Brown, a last-minute Pritchard layup and late free throws by White.
Mazzulla made only one sub over the ultimate 10 minutes, sending in Pritchard for Simons with 6:48 remaining.
