Jayson Tatum Leads Celtics to 3-1 Series Lead Over Magic
The Boston Celtics are on the brink of advancing to the next round of the playoffs after Jayson Tatum scored 37 points to lead his team to a 107-98 win over the Orlando Magic on Sunday. The victory gives the Celtics a 3-1 series lead, and they can seal the deal in Game 5 on Tuesday in Boston.
According to ESPN, Tatum’s impressive performance came despite him playing with an injured right wrist, which he suffered during a flagrant foul by a Magic player in Game 1. The injury forced Tatum to miss the first playoff game of his NBA career, but he has been dominant in the past two games, scoring 36 points and making all 12 of his free throws in Boston’s Game 3 loss on Friday.
Tatum’s 37 points on Sunday included 16 in the fourth quarter, and he also grabbed 14 rebounds, made all 14 of his free throws, and added three assists and three steals. As ESPN reported, he credited Celtics rookie Baylor Scheierman for helping him come up with a new celebration, which involves holding his injured wrist above his head after making big shots.
"I think people are taking notice," Tatum said of his new celebration, "and it’s a new thing for now." The Celtics’ superstar tenderly opened and closed his right hand during the game, testing the pain, but he was clearly determined to lead his team to victory.
The Celtics struggled with the Magic’s physical, aggressive defense, which limited Boston to just 31 3-point attempts – a jarring figure for a team that averaged a league-high 48.4 during the regular season. However, Tatum’s performance and strong contributions from other starters, including Jaylen Brown (21 points, 11 rebounds), Kristaps Porzingis (19 points), Derrick White (18 points), and Al Horford (five blocks), helped seal the win.
As noted by ESPN, the Magic have been a challenge for the Celtics of late, posting a 2-1 record against Boston this season, the second-best mark by any team behind the Thunder. Winning in Orlando has been especially elusive for Boston, but the Celtics earned their first victory in Orlando since October 2022, snapping a five-game skid.
"Orlando’s a great team," Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. "They’re well-coached. They have a little bit of everything. They’ve got versatility defensively. They’ve got two guys that can score at three levels. They’ve got shooting, and they’ve got a ton of versatility. The game-plan execution is very simple."
The Celtics will look to close out the series in Game 5 on Tuesday, and Tatum’s performance will be crucial to their success. As ESPN reported, Porzingis praised Tatum and his fourth-quarter 3-pointer after the hard foul, saying, "I thought in my head, like, ‘This guy is special.’ He just has, I think also, from when I got here to now, he’s developed more of a killer instinct, and he’s been getting us big buckets in this series and last year’s playoffs. Thanks to him, we were right there, and today again he was phenomenal."
The Celtics’ victory was a big win on the road in a tough, physical environment against a team that’s been eager to take them out. As Jaylen Brown said, "It’s not over. We’ve got to close it out because we don’t want to come back here." With Tatum leading the charge, the Celtics are confident they can finish the job and advance to the next round of the playoffs.
