Why Joe Mazzulla Welcomed Challenge In Celtics-Magic Matchup

The Boston Celtics weren’t best equipped to preserve their NBA-best undefeated start at home when taking the floor against the Orlando Magic on Friday night, but it didn’t matter.

As the Magic rolled in winners of four straight matchups with Boston, the Celtics were without Kristaps Porzingis, Al Horford and Luke Kornets. That’s three of Boston’s most rotated bigs, reducing the Celtics to an undersized roster while taking on an Orlando team that salivates at the opportunity to stun Boston with an upset — a scenario that head coach Joe Mazzulla welcomed with open arms.

“I was really looking forward to it,” Mazzulla told reporters, as seen on NBC Sports Boston’s postgame coverage. “… I know the character of the locker room and the work the guys put in so I knew we were going to put up a fight and I knew we were gonna give ourselves a chance to win. Just credit to the locker room, but credit to the guys that chip away every single day and don’t get playing time. They stay ready, they take their job serious and they helped us win.”

Boston pulled away with an encouraging 128-111 victory, improving to a still-perfect 13-0 at TD Garden this season — the organization’s best start since the 1957-58 season (17 straight home wins). The Celtics also jumped to a solid 13-4 when facing teams over .500, leading all NBA teams with such wins.

Instead of allowing the uncontrollable intangibles to rattle them, the Celtics used everything within their control as a strength. There wasn’t a contagious stretch of careless turnovers, and while rebounding was an issue — Orlando grabbed 13 offensive rebounds and 45 total — it didn’t snowball. As opposed to giving the Magic an advantage of the lack of depth, Boston turned depth into an advantage. The Celtics bench totaled 47 points, its second-highest score this season.

Payton Pritchard rose to the occasion, scoring a bench-leading 21 points and knocking down six 3-pointers while collecting three rebounds and five assists.

“I just think we played with a better tempo tonight,” Pritchard told reporters postgame, per NBC Sports Boston. “We just played up and down faster, used our speed, especially with having KP out and Al and Luke. So we had to play fast and use our advantages there.”

Boston, notoriously prone to falling apart in the third quarter, didn’t succumb to its poor late-game habits that have backfired on several instances. The momentum of a 64-51 halftime lead continued and instead, the Celtics notched their highest-scoring frame (37 points) in the third, building a double digit lead that Orlando had no chance of coming back from.

The challenge continues as the Celtics can go back-to-back against the Magic on Sunday before packing up for a two-game road trip on the West Coast.