Jaylen Brown Explains Why Win Over Magic Was Vital For Celtics

The Celtics were shorthanded in the frontcourt when they took the floor at TD Garden on Friday night, but the matchup against the Orlando Magic showcased the depth Boston had.

Lamar Stevens started at center, and head coach Joe Mazzulla also called upon Oshae Brissett and Neemias Queta off the bench to step up for Al Horford, Kristaps Porzingis and Luke Kornet, all of whom missed Friday’s matchup.

Payton Pritchard also stepped up in a larger role scoring 21 points on 6-for-7 shooting from the 3-point line. He helped the Celtics continue their dominance at home with Boston beating Orlando, 128-111, to move to 13-0 at TD Garden. It was a defining moment of the season for Jaylen Brown.

“I think this is the biggest game of the year so far,” Brown told reporters, per MassLive’s Brian Robb. “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.”

The Magic had beaten the Celtics four straight times dating back to last season heading into Friday’s game, and Brown played through a right knee hypertension. But he and Jayson Tatum combined for 48 points and got some revenge on Orlando, especially after accusations of it running up the score on Boston during the NBA In-Season Tournament.

“I think we came out, even though they came out swinging like the first shot they took was a three,” Brown said. “(Jalen) 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.”

The Magic still are motivated whenever they play the Celtics, and Boston will face Orlando again at TD Garden on Sunday.