The Boston Celtics navigated their way through a handful of injuries during Friday night’s 128-111 victory over the Orlando Magic, taking the floor without a healthy Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford or Luke Kornet.
Set to play the Magic for a second straight time to wrap up their five-game home stand, the Celtics won’t need to worry about front court depth. Porzingis and Horford were both removed from the injury report on Saturday while Kornet remains and is set to miss a third consecutive game due to a left adductor strain.
The additions of Porzingis and Horford require no explanation in terms of how much of a difference they are, especially considering how much Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla needed to rely on the reserve unit without them.
Inserting Lamar Stevens into the starting lineup while leaning on Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser and Oshae Brissett, the Celtics received 47 points of production from the bench Friday night. That group never gave into its previous costly habit of coughing up leads, helping the starters maintain a double-digit scoring gap that Orlando never threatened throughout the final two quarters of play.
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“I strongly believe that our second unit is better than a lot of teams’ first unit. I can say that confidently,” Brissett told reporters, per CLNS Media video.
Boston will seek a fifth straight win in hopes of maintaining its undefeated streak at home to begin the campaign.
Featured image via Eric Canha/USA TODAY Sports Images
