4 instant reactions from Celtics' bounce-back win over Magic

The Celtics punched back against the Magic on Sunday, after dropping Friday's NBA Cup game in Orlando. They came out of the gate flat, but fought their way to a 111-105 win over the hosts.

Here's what stood out:

Jaylen Brown gets one of the worst whistles in the NBA

It’s in the H2 here. Jaylen Brown continues to drive through contact on his way to the basket, and the free-throw line somehow continues to evade him. In the five games leading up to Sunday’s win vs. Orlando, Brown averaged just five free throws per outing. That number dips to just one if you remove the two games where he totaled 20.

The trend continued in the second of two games at Kia Center. Brown finished the night with seven free throws, but could've had plenty more.

As if the numbers weren’t evidence enough, take a look at this “clean contest” by Jalen Suggs on a Brown dunk early in the third quarter.

To be honest, this article likely isn’t the first time you’ve heard about this, considering that Brown’s been outspoken about his lack of love from the officials. It truly is remarkable that someone who scores at such a high volume using a physical brand of offense doesn’t find himself at the line more.

Derrick White may finally be thawing from his season-starting ice age

This is now back-to-back solid Derrick White games. Sunday’s performance was more than solid, to be clear, but I’m not sure I can go much higher on Friday’s.

Anyway, what makes Friday’s outing from White so noteworthy is that he found a way to impact the game without making a bunch of threes. He carried over his momentum into Game 2 against Orlando. The shot, once again, wasn’t there for the most part, but he did sink a massive triple to put Boston up by four with less than a minute to go. 

Still, though, there’s no way you could watch this game and feel that White wasn’t a difference maker. He was excellent on defense, disrupting the Magic’s flow all night long. Even if he hadn't made the big shot, he would've still pieced together an impressive night.

We finally got the first glimpse of what Anfernee Simons does

Anfernee Simons’ first 10 games as a Celtic could’ve gone better, to say the very least. There’s been plenty of growing pains and obvious fit issues, but it felt like we all saw his “final form” against the Magic on Sunday.

He poured in 25 first-half points, lighting Orlando on fire from just about everywhere on the court. It was the first time that the possessions where the ball starts in his hands actually went somewhere, which is largely because he was able to find the bottom of the net.

On a more serious note, it was a welcome sight to see Simons looking more like the player he was with the Portland Trail Blazers. If he’s able to score with the same efficiency, 8-13, 5-8 from three, then he’ll be a serious asset off the bench for this Celtics team.

The Celtics' bench is here

Speaking of, Simons’ scoring spearheaded a strong outing from Boston’s bench, which combined for 50 points. As everyone predicted, the heroics of Luka Garza helped the Cs build a lead early in the fourth quarter. He made his presence felt on the offensive glass, creating numerous second-chance opportunities for Boston, including a big putback to give them a five-point lead with two minutes to play.

Also, Jordan Walsh, who’s had himself a week, played well enough to find himself on the floor for crunch time. Not only did he find himself in the game, but he also found himself with the ball in his hands with a chance to ice the game. Walsh did just that when he sank a corner three to give the Celtics a five-point lead with 13 seconds left.