Tatum shines late as Celtics push Magic to the brink

Jaylen Brown had set the tone after Game 3. If the Orlando Magic wanted to turn this series into a slugfest, the Boston Celtics would be ready. So far, this first-round series has lived up to the billing - intense, physical, and bordering on excessive at times. But in Game 4, despite Orlando’s gritty approach, it was Boston that landed the decisive blow, pulling away late for a 107-98 win and taking a 3-1 series lead.

Magic hang tough but falter down the stretch

The Magic, fully aware of their talent gap, have leaned on their defense and physicality to keep games close. Once again, they pushed Boston to the limit, staying within reach deep into the fourth quarter. With 4:18 remaining, Wendell Carter Jr. tied the game at 91-91 – the culmination of a second half where Orlando never let the Celtics pull away.

But this time, unlike the two games in Boston, where the Celtics had separated in the third quarter, the knockout blow came much later. After Carter’s tying basket, the Celtics responded with a 10-1 run, finally creating the separation that proved decisive.

Boston’s bench struggles, but stars deliver

Boston’s outside shooting and bench production failed to ignite for much of the night. The Celtics shot just 29% from three (9/31), and Sam Hauser was the only reserve to score, chipping in six points. Al Horford started in place of Jrue Holiday (out for a second straight game), but Payton Pritchard, the Sixth Man of the Year, missed both his shot attempts in 26 minutes.

Thankfully for Boston, the starting five stepped up when it mattered most:

Porzingis’ inside presence proved vital on a night when the perimeter shots weren’t falling.

Magic’s offensive shortcomings exposed

While the Magic defense kept them close, their offense remains a glaring issue. Orlando shot just 26.7% from three, and with Paolo Banchero often tasked with leading the offense, the lack of a reliable point guard continues to hurt. The 12 points from Corey Joseph represent the highest total by a Magic guard this series – a telling sign of where they need to improve this offseason.

Even with Banchero’s leadership, the Magic were ultimately overwhelmed by Boston’s late-game execution.

Back to Boston with the series on the line

The Celtics now hold a commanding 3-1 advantage and return to TD Garden for Game 5, knowing they have the chance to close out the series. For the Magic, the margin for error is gone. They’ll need a miracle turnaround in Boston to extend their playoff hopes.

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Orlando Magic

Stats

5 Paolo Banchero
22 Franz Wagner
34 Wendell Carter Jr.
3 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
10 Cory Joseph
50 Cole Anthony
35 Goga Bitadze
0 Anthony Black
23 Tristan da Silva
14 Gary Harris
2 Caleb Houstan
13 Jett Howard
1 Jonathan Isaac

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
5 Paolo Banchero	40	31	7	3	4	3	4	0	1	5/9	10/26	2/6	0	5	0
22 Franz Wagner	39	24	6	0	6	7	2	0	0	2/3	8/15	2/7	0	2	0
34 Wendell Carter Jr.	35	9	11	3	8	3	2	0	1	1/2	4/7	0/1	0	3	0
3 Kentavious Caldwell-Pope	31	8	2	0	2	4	0	2	2	2/2	0/0	2/4	0	3	0
10 Cory Joseph	27	12	3	0	3	6	0	1	0	0/0	3/4	2/4	0	3	0
50 Cole Anthony	2	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	2	0
35 Goga Bitadze	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
0 Anthony Black	18	10	4	0	4	0	1	1	0	2/2	4/4	0/3	0	1	0
23 Tristan da Silva	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
14 Gary Harris	18	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/1	0	4	0
2 Caleb Houstan	13	0	1	0	1	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/1	0/3	0	0	0
13 Jett Howard	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
1 Jonathan Isaac	12	4	3	1	2	0	0	1	0	2/2	1/1	0/1	0	1	0

Boston Celtics

Stats

42 Al Horford
0 Jayson Tatum
8 Kristaps Porzingis
7 Jaylen Brown
9 Derrick White
12 Torrey Craig
20 JD Davison
30 Sam Hauser
40 Luke Kornet
11 Payton Pritchard
88 Neemias Queta
55 Baylor Scheierman
26 Xavier Tillman
27 Jordan Walsh

Stats

	Min	Pts	TR	OR	DR	Ast	Los	Rec	Blk	S1	S2	S3	RF	CF	Val
42 Al Horford	34	6	6	2	4	2	1	0	5	2/2	2/4	0/3	0	0	0
0 Jayson Tatum	42	37	14	3	11	3	2	3	0	14/14	7/15	3/10	0	3	0
8 Kristaps Porzingis	22	19	5	2	3	1	1	1	0	3/3	5/10	2/4	0	5	0
7 Jaylen Brown	41	21	11	0	11	1	4	2	0	9/10	6/13	0/3	0	3	0
9 Derrick White	39	18	7	2	5	7	1	0	1	2/3	5/5	2/6	0	1	0
12 Torrey Craig	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
20 JD Davison	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
30 Sam Hauser	17	6	1	0	1	0	1	1	0	0/0	0/0	2/3	0	2	0
40 Luke Kornet	16	0	1	1	0	1	0	0	1	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
11 Payton Pritchard	25	0	1	1	0	2	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/2	0	3	0
88 Neemias Queta	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
55 Baylor Scheierman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
26 Xavier Tillman	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0
27 Jordan Walsh	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0/0	0/0	0/0	0	0	0