After a gross home loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Friday, the Boston Celtics almost suffered a similar fate on Sunday with an abysmal defensive second half. Fortunately for the Celtics, the Magic’s fourth-quarter comeback came up just short and they held on for a 138-129 win. 

Even after building a 23 point second-half lead, the Celtics didn’t run away with an easy victory.  Boston nearly let a sure-fire win slip away to a severely undermanned Orlando squad who were without three key players in Paolo Banchero, Jalen Suggs and Wendell Carter Jr.

With Jett Howard — who finished with 28 second half points — and Jace Richardson going nuclear in the fourth quarter, Jaylen Brown wouldn’t let his team fall in ugly fashion for the second-straight night, scoring 12 consecutive points to hold back the Magic in the final minutes. 

Brown finished the night with 35 points on 14-for-26 shooting to bring Boston back over .500. 

The Celtics initially appeared to be heading for an easy win, especially in the second quarter. The Cs exploded for 48 second-quarter points on 18-for-23 shooting to deliver a swift knockout punch to the Magic. Anfernee Simons led all Boston scorers in the first half with 16 points on 6-for-8 shooting. 

It wasn’t all good news for Boston in the first half however as it lost Neemias Queta in the first quarter to a left ankle sprain. It’s unclear as to the severity of the injury as Boston took control early and didn’t need him to return, but it’s something to monitor as losing Queta in an already weak frontcourt could spell problems for the Cs. 

Despite being severely undermanned, Orlando, who was on the second night of a back-to-back, hung around with Boston early. At the first media timeout, both teams were knotted at 13.

Queta had a solid opening, but it was short lived. The big man connected on his first three shots to get six early points, but midway through the quarter he turned his ankle on a block attempt and hobbled back to the Celtics’ locker room. Queta was officially ruled questionable to return with a left ankle sprain. 

Boston got hot midway through the first quarter once its reserves hit the parquet. Sam Hauser immediately ripped off two triples and Anfernee Simons nailed one of his own to put the Cs up seven. 

The Magic stayed afloat in the first quarter much to the thanks of Franz Wagner’s ability to get to the line. The forward got to the line eight times, and Orlando got to the stripe 13 times overall to keep the 1st quarter deficit at five, 32-27. 

Orlando’s deficiencies became clear in the second quarter as the Celtics exploded for their best 12-minute stretch of the season. Boston went nuclear from top-to-bottom in the second frame, scoring 48 points on 18-for-23 shooting. 

Simons continued his strong start, scoring seven quick points and sticking a transition triple to bring his point total up to 16 on 6-for-8 shooting. With Queta out, Josh Minott stepped up in the smaller lineup, finishing the quarter with 12 points on perfect shooting. He also provided some much needed help on the glass, grabbing five boards.  

The Celtics really caught fire in the final five minutes of the second quarter, scoring 26 points. Without Jalen Suggs, Orlando couldn’t keep up on the defensive end. Payton Pritchard capitalized off two straight Boston steals, knocking down a triple and going coast-to-coast to convert for two.  

Pritchard finished off the hot quarter by beating the buzzer, hitting a pullup jumper to bring his point total up to 13 and giving Boston an 80-57 lead at the half. 

Sunday marked just the 10th time in franchise history in which the Celtics scored 80 points in the first half. 

The Celtics rode their 23 point first-half lead into the second half, never really breaking a sweat throughout the third quarter. Boston held serve with Orlando’s feisty reserves, who did provide some spark but never enough to challenge the massive deficit. 

Hauser did continue to shoot the ball well in the third quarter after struggling for much of November. Coming into Sunday’s game, Hauser was shooting just 20% from three. He knocked down 4-for-5 of his attempts in the comfortable win. 

The fourth quarter did provide a scare for the Celtics as Orlando reached deep in its bench to find some production. Boston’s defense was poor in the fourth as it sorely missed Queta’s presence, and Minott — who provided some defensive energy — didn’t play in the critical minutes. 

Jace Richardson — who finished with 18 points — and Jett Howard were electric, carrying the Magic right back into the game. Orlando opted to ride the younger hot hands down the stretch, opting not to bring back Wagner in what became a close game.

A 14-2 Orlando run sparked by Richardson and Howard triples cut the deficit to just 11. Thankfully for Boston, its superstar delivered when it needed most as Brown scored 12 consecutive points to stave off the Magic. 

Boston will be back in action on Wednesday for an afternoon matchup with the Detroit Pistons. Tipoff is set for 5:00 p.m. at TD Garden.