All season-long, Boston heard the chatter that perhaps the best formula to dethrone them as champions was to take away their threes and to play physical against them.
The seventh-seed Magic was testing that theory in Game 5 — and it’s actually working as Orlando took a 49-47 halftime lead with the Celtics yet to make a single triple so far.
Until the second half unfolded.
Jayson Tatum delivered an all-around game of 35 points, 10 assists, and eight rebounds, bannering a blistering Boston third-quarter barrage that led to a series-clinching 120-89 romp in Game 5.
The defending champions pounced on the opportunity when Magic star Paolo Banchero picked up his fifth personal foul early in the second half and had to sit out.
Boston broke the game wide open after that key turning point and turned a 51-47 deficit into a wide 83-62 margin at the end of the third frame.
Jayson Tatum knocks down his third triple of the 3Q 🔥
— NBA TV (@NBATV) April 30, 2025
Celtics pulling away in Game 5 with one quarter to go 👀
Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined to score 24 of the Celtics 37-point output in that quarter, nearly twice as many as the Magic (13) scored as a team.
When Banchero returned to start the fourth, the momentum completely shifted to the Celtics, who hit all of their 18 threes in the second half.
“It was probably exactly what we needed, A good test [for the] first round,” Tatum told reporters in the post-game press conference.
Head coach Joe Mazulla praised his superstar wing for ‘staying patient’ in Game 5 as Boston awaits the winner of the New York Knicks-Detroit Pistons series.
BOSTON MOVES ON ??
— NBA on TNT (@NBAonTNT) April 30, 2025
The reigning champs @celtics advance to the East Semifinals in the #NBAPlayoffs
“At the end of the day, every game is different. Every team is different. You have to be ready to answer the call. And I thought he [Tatum] did that," Mazulla commented.
The highly-physical series saw some Celtics players get injured on flagrant fouls.
Tatum missed Game 2 due to a wrist injury he sustained in the series opener. Big man Kristaps Porzingis’ forehead suffered a huge cut in Game 3. Aside from Jaylen Brown’s lingering knee issues, Jrue Holiday sat out for the third straight game because of a right hamstring strain.
“A couple guys really banged up and dealing with some things. But [just] showing that mental toughness of getting up and getting ready for each game and doing whatever it takes, whatever the game calls for and figuring out a way to win. That's all that matters this time of the year," Tatum insisted.
Brown, who was held to 19 points in Game 3, added 23 points and six rebounds for his second straight 20-point outing of the series.
"That was a great learning experience for us to go a full playoff series, having to be physical, having to get in the trenches, rebound, flagrant fouls, play through it, physicality, play through it, and still find ways to win," the reigning Finals MVP shared.
He added: "That's one of the challenges people would have said before the season: take away the 3-point shooting, play them physical, and I think we responded well to that [in] this series. So that's something that we'll continue to build on, but that's great to have that in our back pocket and take that going forward in the playoffs."
The Celtics proved – at least for one series — that Orlando’s game plan might have given them some trouble, but it will take more than just that to oust them as champions.
"I thought that was the theme of the series, was the trenches and the physicality there. Every series, every game presents lessons. You have to take those lessons if you're fortunate to move on, so there's a lot that we can learn from this series, and we've got to be ready for whoever we play against, " Mazulla noted.
