The Boston Celtics defeated the Orlando Magic by a large margin at TD Garden on Friday, snapping a four-game losing streak against the Magic. Despite playing on the back end of a back-to-back and missing their top three centers in Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics were unexpectedly resilient in a 128-111 win over Orlando, going small and fast to upset the Magic’s expectations.

And it wasn’t only the team’s fans who were pleasantly surprised by what appeared to be a predetermined loss on Friday, given how Boston has performed in prior games against the Magic. Jaylen Brown, the team’s star forward, was satisfied with how his teammates handled the situation.

“I think this is the biggest game of the year so far,” the Georgia native stated after the game.

“In my opinion, for us, I think one we had a bunch of guys out and were on a back-to-back versus a team that’s been kicking our (expletive) the last four or five times we played,” he said. “I think this was the biggest game to me so far.”

With the bench scoring a season-high 47 points and six players scoring in double digits, the Celtics’ pace, ball movement, and attention helped them earn the victory, with Boston turning the ball over 21 times to Orlando’s 10.

“I think we came out, even though they came out swinging like the first shot they took was a 3 (…),” he said.

“But we took those punches and kept throwing them back, and that’s what we want our guys to do.” We fight, we make it difficult for you, and we play the game correctly.”

To see the Celtics withstand the storm with so many big men was a heartening sight for supporters. While the team may still need to address its lack of frontcourt depth, if Boston can play like this when the chips are down, the chances of winning a championship this summer are greater than ever.