The Celtics absorbed the Magic’s initial punch Sunday as they were down by 12 points midway through the first quarter. Orlando found its rhythm early as the C’s needed to dig themselves out of another double-digit hole, just like Friday’s loss to the Magic.
But this time, the Celtics were led by a hot-shooting Anfernee Simons. That drew praise from C’s coach Joe Mazzulla as Simons put up 25 points in the first half. While Simons didn’t score in the second half, Mazzulla pointed out how his presence went a long way as the Celtics defeated the Magic on Sunday.
“Anfernee in the first half really got us going,” Mazzulla said, via CLNS Media. “He also made them change their pick-and-roll coverages, which was great. He had 25 in the first half and didn’t score (in the second half). But he constantly gave us 2-on-1s in the second half in his minutes.”
The Celtics got contributions across the board to improve to 5-6 on the season. Jordan Walsh and Luka Garza were crucial, getting crunch-time minutes and rare opportunities. Simons set the tone in the first half, then the rest of the Celtics roster played their way to the victory.
Simons putting together a strong start was also noteworthy after his 11-point performance Friday. Simons had played just two minutes in the first half last game as he got off to a poor start. But once he got going in the fourth quarter, he scored all 11 points in the frame.
It’s been a process for the Celtics to incorporate Simons fully into their team. He was a primary scoring option for the Trail Blazers over the past few seasons, but he now finds himself coming off the bench. But when he’s on, he can put the ball through the hoop in an electric way like he showed Sunday.
“We have to figure out how to maximize everybody’s potential to whatever degree that is,” Jaylen Brown said. “Anfernee is a guy who’s very talented, so we have to figure out how we can continue to maximize his potential, regardless of what it looks. We just gotta keep an open mind. It was great to see him be aggressive in the first half and get it going a bit. That’s what we need. That takes pressure off of everyone.”
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