Copyright MassLive
Jaylen Brown has carried the Celtics offense for the majority of the 2025-26 season with Jayson Tatum on the sidelines. On Sunday night, he got some extra help from unlikely places in a 111-107 road win over the Magic. The All-Star helped to spark three 3-point makes for Boston in the final two minutes of the victory to help ward off an Orlando comeback. Brown made one himself with 1:35 remaining but he turned to the pass in the other sequences that led to wide open looks for Jordan Walsh and Derrick White. The duo hit their open looks sealing the first regular season road win in Orlando for Boston in the last three years. After the game, Brown made a point of singling out a bench unit that combined for 50 points in the win, 14 points above the team’s regular season average. “I thought they were good tonight,” Brown told reporters in Orlando via NBC Sports Boston. “Big time win for us. That was a good Orlando team, physical team that plays really well at home in the regular season. To have our guys on the road make some big-time plays, some of our young guys step up, that’s what I want to see. Luka Garza was great tonight, Jordan, Hugo, Anfernee started to step into himself a little bit too, so all great signs.” Walsh stuffed the box score with six points, six rebounds, four assists and two steals in the win while Simons matched his season-high with 25 points in just 23 minutes. Garza flirted with a double-double, posting season-bests in points (16) and rebounds (8) while Gonzalez tallied a couple steals and provided terrific defensive energy on the floor. Amid a 5-6 start, Brown believes the team is showing strong signs of progress as they navigate a brutal start to the schedule. “Just keep building on it,” Brown said. “One day at a time. I believe in our guys. Continue to empower them.” The Celtics will close out a challenging stretch of three games in four nights starting on Tuesday night in Philadelphia before returning home for a back-to-back against Memphis on Wednesday night at TD Garden. The taxing schedule will likely lead to more chances for the second unit and Brown is eager to see more repeat efforts of Sunday’s win. “That’s what we need,” Brown said of the bench. “We just need to have a collective effort every single night.”
