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26 April 2025

• Magic hold on for Game 3 win shutting down Celtics offense 95-93

  The Celtics squandered a 10-point halftime lead into the third quarter where Boston hit its offensive low in the Joe Mazzulla era.

  ORLANDO — It took six plays for Jayson Tatum and Kentavious Caldwell-Pope to meet in the former’s return.

  Tatum fell to floor after the Celtics knocked the ball away from Cory Joseph and ripped it from Caldwell-Pope, rising to from the floor quickly. He drew another hard foul early from the Magic forward who injured him on Sunday and knocked him out for Game 2 with a hard foul. It was the first of countless times both teams crashed to the floor in a game that featured over 40 fouls and 32 turnovers. The final one, with Jaylen Brown out of the game in foul trouble and Payton Pritchard dribbling into the paint down by four points — where Gary Harris stripped him.

  Tatum returned on Sunday and started 7-of-12 in the first half, hit 3-of-7 from three and showed few visible limitations stemming from his right wrist bone bruise. His eight straight points late in the second quarter flipped Boston from down by two to ahead by six. But the Celtics’ offense tailed off dramatically into the second half, bogged down by turnovers, hurt by continued physicality from the Magic and falling 95-93 in the grittiest game in recent memory that until 10 p.m. following a tip-off just after seven. Boston

  Jaylen Brown also played despite returning to the injury report on Friday afternoon with his nagging knee ailment. Jrue Holiday did not play, arriving late and never warming up after suffering a right hamstring strain. Joe Mazzulla did not clarify before the game whether Holiday suffered it in Game 2, when he closed the final 12 minutes appearing fine in a strong performance.

  In Game 3, the hits continued. Cole Anthony threw down Brown in the second, who landed awkwardly on his left hand and stayed down for several minutes. Anthony drew a flagrant one, the third such call on the Magic in three games. Orlando fouled liberally, 11 times in the first half after committing 17 in Game 1 and 23 on Wednesday. Boston went ahead by seven points in the first quarter following Brown’s steal on Caldwell-Pope and breakout dunk, but the Celtics matched the Magic’s first six turnovers to keep the game close. Orlando’s switching again limited Boston’s three-point chances. The Magic shot more through halftime.

  The Magic wanted their own replay when Luke Kornet hit Anthony Black hard one play after Anthony’s flagrant, but the officials gave them none. Black appeared to knocked the ball off Brown and out-of-bounds, which prompted a Magic challenge. Like early in Game 2, it backfired as officials saw Black slap Brown’s arm and hit him with a third foul while Boston kept possession. Black helped give the Magic a lead after the first quarter with back-to-back steals pressuring Sam Hauser and Payton Pritchard in the back court. Then, after a last-second full court charge by Anthony, Black snuck under the rim on the ensuing in-bounds to score two more points before the buzzer.

  Brown attacked mismatches to start the new frame, but turned the ball over twice with misplaced passes. He and Tatum both had five giveaways halfway through the game, and it prevented the Celtics from getting up their usual number of shots. Tatum’s shooting barrage gave them a 10-point edge at the half, but Boston’s faded completely into the third, where they scored 11 points — their fewest in a quarter under Joe Mazzulla and least since 2021.

  The turnovers kept flowing. Brown committed an offensive foul inside early. Tatum traveled minutes later. Caldwell-Pope tried to knock the ball away from him after the call, Tatum holding onto it and staring back at him. Buckets by Wendell Carter Jr., a pair from Paolo Banchero and a Franz Wagner three flipped the lead while Boston went scoreless on 11 of its first 13 possessions in the frame.

  Wagner’s free throws later in the third gave the Magic the lead that Carter built on with a pair of finishes, the second bodying Kornet out of the way for a put-back. Tatum soon committed his seventh turnover, and while Anthony’s potential pull-away three at the end of the quarter after back-to-back offensive rebounds became a turnover, instead, when he stepped out of bounds, the Magic stayed ahead by three into the fourth.

  There, Boston unraveled. Porzingis traveled. Brown drove into traffic and a shot clock violation allowed Banchero to extend the Magic’s lead to 11 with six straight points attacking the basket. Brown, Al Horford and Tatum generated consecutive three-point plays to slash that advantage to three in 52 seconds. But a pair of Horford fouls put the Magic in the bonus with five minutes left before Brown picked up a fifth, giving Orlando five points back and putting Brown on the bench.

  The Magic used eight straight free throws to stay ahead until Wagner scored their first field goals in nearly six minutes with back-to-back plays attacking Porzingis downhill. Boston lost a challenge on an out of bounds call then an inadvertent eight second call while the Celtics pressured Banchero at front court stole a last second chance for them. They got it after Wagner missed a three with one second left, but only 0.3 remained and Orlando tipped away Derrick White’s in-bound tip attempt.

• Celtics announce who’s in, who’s out in final Game 3 injury report

  Jayson Tatum (right wrist bone bruise) and Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement) are both available to play, while Jrue Holiday (right hamstring) will miss the Celtics’ playoff game against the Magic on Friday.

  ORLANDO — The Celtics will be without Jrue Holiday for Friday’s Game 3 matchup against the Orlando Magic. Holiday was listed as questionable with a right hamstring strain, and didn’t go through pregame warmups.

  Jayson Tatum (right wrist bone bruise) and Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement) are both available to play, the team announced about 45 minutes ahead of tip-off. Tatum and Brown were also listed the Celtics’ afternoon injury report ahead of Game 3, with Tatum listed as doubtful and Brown listed as questionable. Tatum was upgraded from doubtful to questionable two hours ahead of tip-off.

  Both Tatum and Brown went through their full pregame warmups and didn’t appear limited.

  Regardless of whether Jayson Tatum is able to play tonight, it’s definitely a good sign he’s shooting right now
  
  We hadn’t seen him shoot since the injury pic.twitter.com/Kp5Fe7e9U1

  — Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 25, 2025

  On Thursday, Joe Mazzulla said on the radio show Zolak and Bertrand that Tatum was dealing with a “severe” bone bruise and remained day-to-day. When Mazzulla was asked to elaborate on his decision to describe the bone bruise as “severe” he simply explained it was severe enough to keep him out of Game 2. Tatum suffered the injury on Sunday in Game 1 of the NBA playoffs, and missed his first-ever playoff again as a Celtic three days later.

  Brown has been dealing with his right knee impingement since mid-February, missing 12 games for it down the stretch of the regular season. He had one of his best games of the year on Wednesday, exploding for 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 5 assists.

  Jaylen Brown (questionable) going through his pregame ball-handling drills pic.twitter.com/ybxVzkmQtZ

  — Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 25, 2025

  Holiday, meanwhile, will miss his first playoff game as a Celtic.

  Game 3 between the Celtics and the Magic will tip-off at 7pm.

• Boston Celtics (2-0) at Orlando Magic (0-2) Round 1 Game 3 4/25/25

  The Celtics look to go up 3-0 on the Magic as the series shifts to Orlando for Game 3.

  The series now moves to Orlando for Game 3. The Celtics won Game 1 103-86 in Boston on Sunday with a full roster. They won Game 2 109-100 on Wednesday, also in Boston, but without Jayson Tatum. In both games, the Magic kept it close in the first half but the Celtics pulled away with a big run to start the 3rd quarter of both games

  In NBA history, 452 teams have gone up 2-0 in a playoff series. This includes both 5 game and 7 game series. Of the 452 teams that were down 0-2, only 33 teams have come back to win the series. 587 teams have held a 2-1 series lead. Of those teams that were down 1-2, 117 of them went on to win the series.

  There have been 154 teams that have gone up 3-0 in a 7 game series. Of the teams that were down 0-3, not a single one of them was able to go on to win the series. So, this team is very important for both teams. In 2023, the 2nd seed Celtics were down 0-3 to the 8th seed Miami Heat. The Celtics took the series to 7 games but lost that 7th game.

  This is the fourth time these two teams have met in the playoffs and the first time since 2010, when the Celtics won the Eastern Conference Finals 4-2. Charlotte and Brooklyn are the other two teams. With the win on Wednesday the Celtics lead all time with 10 playoff wins to 9 for the Magic.

  This will be an interesting matchup as illustrated by several statistics. The Celtics average the 2nd fewest turnovers (11.9) while the Magic are 2nd with 16.2 forced turnovers per game. The first game went the Celtics way in this category. The Celtics had just 9 turnovers in the game while the Magic had 15. In Game 2, the Celtics had 10 turnovers to 7 for the Magic.

  The Celtics are first in fewest shooting fouls committed while the Magic draw the 2nd most shooting fouls per 100 possessions. The Celtics were called for 13 personal fouls for the game while the Magic were called for 17 personal fouls. In Game 2, the Celtics were called for 19 fouls while the Magic were called for 23. The Magic have played very physical and had some very reckless plays. In Game 1, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope took out Jayson Tatum, who injured his wrist on the play and in Game 2, Goga Bitadze took out Kristaps Porzingis with his elbow, giving him 5 stitches in his forehead.

  The most important statistic is 3 point shooting. The Celtics averaged 48.2 threes per game in the regular season while the Magic limited teams to 31.4 attempted 3’s per game, fewest in the league. In Game 1, the Celtics attempted 37 threes, which is 11 under their season average. They made 18 of those. The Magic took just 27 threes and made just 10. In Game 2, The Celtics once again attempted 37 threes and made 12, while the Magic attempted 29 and made just 7.

  Jayson Tatum went into Game 1 healthy but thanks to a reckless play by the Magic as he went up for a dunk, he is listed as doubtful for the second straight game and his final status will be a game time decision. He has a severe bone bruise and hasn’t been ruled out but the doubtful designation doesn’t give a lot of hope. I’m guessing that Al Horford will once again get the start if he can’t play.

  Kristaps Porzingis left Game 2 with a gash in his forehead, thanks to a reckless Goga Bitadze elbow. He shot the 2 free throws with blood through his hair and on his nose. He left the game and got 5 stitches in the locker room and came back in to finish the game. He is not on the injury list. Jrue Holiday is on the injury report due to a hamstring strain. He is questionable for this game. If he can’t play, I’m guessing that Sam Hauser will get the start in his place.

  A late addition to the injury report is Jaylen Brown due to right knee posterior impingement, the same injury that kept him out of the last 3 games of the regular season. He has looked good in the first 2 games against the Magic, although he has lacked some of his usual explosiveness at times. It’s unclear whether he is having more problems with the knee or if they expect Tatum and Holiday to be out and figure they would give him a rest day as well. i would guess that Payton Pritchard will start if all 3 are out. The stay ready group really needs to be ready for this game.

  The Magic have 2 players on the injury list but they have been out long term for them and both will miss the playoffs. Jalen Suggs has been out since March 4 after undergoing successful arthroscopic surgery to remove a cartilage fragment in his left knee. Moritz Wagner has been out since January 9 when he tore the ACL in his left knee. Other than these two, the Magic have a clear injury report. Of course, the Celtics haven’t been playing recklessly and injuring their players either.

  Probable Celtics Starters

  PG: Jrue Holiday
  SG: Derrick White
  SF: Jaylen Brown
  PF: Al Horford
  C: Kristaps Porzingis

  Celtics Reserves
  Payton Pritchard
  Neemias Queta
  Baylor Scheierman
  Jordan Walsh
  Luke Kornet
  Torrey Craig
  Sam Hauser
  Xavier Tillman, Sr
  JD Davison

  2 Way Players
  Drew Peterson
  Miles Norris

  Injuries/Out
  Jayson Tatum (wrist) doubtful
  Jrue Holiday (hamstring) questionable
  Jaylen Brown (knee) questionable

  Head Coach
  Joe Mazzulla

  Probable Magic Starters

  PG: Cory Joseph
  SG: Kentavious Caldwell-Pope
  SF: Franz Wagner
  PF: Paolo Banchero
  C: Wendell Carter, Jr

  Magic Reserves
  Cole Anthony
  Goga Bitadze
  Anthony Black
  Tristan DaSilva
  Gary Harris
  Caleb Houstan
  Jett Howard
  Jonathan Isaac

  2-Way Players
  Mac McClung
  Trevelin Queen
  Ethan Thompson

  Injuries/Out
  Moritz Wagner (knee) out
  Jalen Suggs (knee) out

  Head Coach
  Jamahl Mosley

  Key Matchups

  Al Horford vs Paolo Banchero
  Banchero averaged 25.9 points, 7.5 rebounds, and 4.8 assists per game in the regular season. He shot 45.2% from the field and 32.0% from beyond the arc. In Game 1, he finished with 36 points, 11 rebounds, 4 assists, 1 steal and 1 block. He shot 51.9% from the field and 57.1% from beyond the arc. In Game 2 he finished with 32 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks while shooting 48% from the field and 33.3% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to try to defend him better in this one.

  Jaylen Brown vs Franz Wagner
  Wagner averaged 24.2 points, 5.7 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.3 steals per game in the regular season. He shot 46.3% from the field and 29.5% from beyond the arc. In Game 1, he finished with 23 points, 3 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 2 blocks. He shot 41.7% from the field and 16.7% from beyond the arc. In Game 2, he finished with 25 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while shooting 50% from the field and 14.3% from beyond the arc. He is very capable of having a big game and the Celtics need to defend him well.

  Honorable Mention
  Kristaps Porzingis vs Wendell Carter, Jr
  Carter averaged 9.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, and 2.0 assists per game in the regular season. He shot 46% from the field and 23.4% from beyond the arc. In Game 1, he finished with 4 points and 13 rebounds while shooting 33.3% from the field and went 1-1 from beyond the arc. In Game 2, he finished with 16 points, 8 rebounds and 1 assist while shooting 75% from the field and he hit all 3 of his threes. Hopefully Porzingis avenges those stitches and has a big game on both ends of the court in this one.

  Keys to the Game
  Defense - Defense is always the key to winning and even more so in the Playoffs. The Celtics are 4th the playoffs with a defensive rating of 106.3. The Magic are 14th in the playoffs with a defensive rating of 120.5. The Celtics scored just 103 points in Game 1 but they held the Magic to just 86 points. In Game 2, the Magic scored 100 points. The Magic have good defenders and so if the Celtics hope to beat them, they need match Orlando’s defensive intensity and to play tough lock down defense themselves. Hopefully, the Magic can defend in this game without injuring another Celtic.

  Rebound - As Pat Riley once said, “No rebounds, no rings.” Much of rebounding is effort and hustle and if the Celtics put the extra effort into grabbing rebounds, it usually translates to the rest of their game. The Celtics out-rebounded the Magic 42-41 in Game 1. In Game 2, the Celtics won the rebounding battle 46-34. They need to work even harder on the boards in this one. The Celtics are 42-7 when tied or out-rebounding their opponents. The Celtics need to out-work the Magic on the boards if they want to win this game.

  3 Point Shooting- In the regular season, the Celtics took the most 3’s per game while the Magic allowed the fewest 3’s per game. In the 3 games this season, the Magic held the Celtics to 11.3 fewer 3 point attempts than their average. In Game 1, the Celtics took 37 threes (43.2%) while the Magic took 27 threes (37%) In Game 2, the Celtics took 37 threes (37%) while the Magic took 29 threes (24.2%). The Celtics are tough to beat when they make their 3’s and they struggle when the 3’s aren’t falling. Once again, they have to neutralize the Magic’s tough 3 point defense and at the same time play tough defense against the Magic.

  Effort and Desperation - The Magic know that if they go down 0-3, they are pretty much doomed to lose the series. They are going to be desperate and will likely play even more recklessly than they have been. The Celtics know that if they can win this game and go up 3-0, it puts them in a good position to win the series. The Celtics need to give maximum effort in this one, especially if Holiday and Tatum can’t play.

  X-Factors
  Road Game- The Celtics are playing on the road. They are facing distractions of travel and playing in an unfamiliar arena in front of hostile fans. Although, the last time the Celtics played in Orlando, there was a huge contingent of Celtics fans in the arena. They need to shake off those distractions and keep their focus on playing the game. The Celtics were historically good on the road this season, going 33-8 on the road for the season. They need to draw on that road warrior mindset to help them get a win in this one.

  Injuries - Other than Kristaps Porzingis, the Celtics were mostly healthy during last year’s playoffs. They came into Game 1 healthy with just minor questions about Jaylen Brown and Jrue Holiday. The Celtics won without Jayson Tatum in Game 2 and Jaylen Brown dispelled any questions about his health. Coming into Game 3, Jayson Tatum is once again doubtful. Jrue Holiday is questionable with a hamstring strain. The Celtics need to lock into that next man up mentality and pull together to get a win, even if they are missing 2 starters.

  Officiating- Officiating can always be an X-Factor. In some games, you don’t even notice the referees and in other games, they seem to make the game all about them. Some crews call the game tight and others let the teams play. Some crews favor one of the teams while others call it fairly. No matter how the game is called, the Celtics must adjust and not allow the officiating to take away from their focus. Hopefully the refs are keeping an eye out for reckless play from the Magic in this one.

  Official Report
  Crew Chief - David Guthrie
  The Celtics were 1-0 with Guthrie this season. He calls 53.2% of fouls on the road team. His home win/loss record is 23-15.

  Referee - Courtney Kirkland
  The Celtics were 2-1 with Kirkland this season. He calls 47.8% of fouls on the road teamHis home win/loss record is 31-33.

  Umpire - Tre Maddox
  The Celtics are 2-1 with Maddox this season. He calls 50.6% of fouls on the road team. His home win/loss record this season is 26-31.

  And make sure to check out CelticsBlog’s Playback stream for a live conversation about the game. To participate, just create a free account, connect your LP sub if you have it, and join our community.

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• Boston needs a lift, Holiday brings the drive

  Jrue Holiday picked his spots, took on more responsibility, and attacked the paint with purpose. His shift in mindset gave Boston a new offensive dimension and helped fill the void left by Jayson Tatum.

  Yes, it has been only two games, but there is a clear shift in Jrue Holiday’s approach and aggressiveness on the court. For the last two seasons since he landed in Boston, Holiday has been more of a connector. He let Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown carry the ball and lead the offense. Off-ball, his missions were various, but he rarely needed to drive. Often, as a connector, you would find him setting a screen and cutting in the middle of the court to disrupt the defense from the short roll.

  When he wasn’t in the middle of the court playing the connector, he was at the dunker spot to mess with the defensive structure. As he is often defended by the shortest player on the other team, putting him in that position messes with the defensive structure. During Game 1, his positioning makes Cory Joseph the low man, which causes weak defensive protection for the Magic.

  The Celtics asked Jrue to go down at the dunker-spot.
  
  Why? Because he is matched-up with Corey Joseph.
  
  As Jrue is in the dunker spot, the rim protection is weak for the Magic.
  
  With just one screen and Jrue positioning, the Celtics took away ball pressure and rim protection. pic.twitter.com/CicN0tQMf7

  — Azad (@azmatlanba) April 21, 2025

  A lot of his offense also comes from shooting the ball from the corner or anywhere beyond the lines. There are also a few post-ups, and sometimes he allows himself to shoot some pull-ups, but most of his threes are now catch-and-shoots. One side of his game that we haven’t seen a lot yet — and that he showed us through these first two games — is his ability to drive, especially in Game 2.

  With Jayson Tatum out, the Celtics needed everyone to step up. While Jaylen Brown stepped up big and Kristaps Porzingis fought back against the Magic’s physicality, Holiday’s performance might have been the one that surprised me the most. In terms of numbers, he drove nine times. It is twice as much as his season average.

  The first drive came early in the game on an empty-side action. An approach that the Celtics are using a lot, with a screen for a ball-handler on one side with the empty corner, while the other big man is set on the opposing slot to stretch the defense. Instead of using the screen, Holiday drives left and forces the help from the weak side. Franz Wagner now has two players to deal with, and Al Horford is free beyond the line.

  On his second drive, he refuses the screen and drives the other way. This time, he has a bigger defensive player on him with the long and young Anthony Black. However, Holiday is strong enough to make his way to the rim, and when he gathers, watch how he slows down on the last step so Black anticipates the layup and jumps too early. This little adjustment gives enough space for Jrue Holiday to make the layup.

  The next one is less impressive but means a lot because it is one of his only dunks with a Celtics uniform. After a Jaylen Brown post-up, he catches the ball beyond the line, but instead of taking a three, he drives with a lot of momentum and flies to the rim — and the bench loves it.

  Later in the game, there is a play call to obtain a switch and a post-up for Horford. However, once Holiday has the ball, he goes left and fakes a handoff with Brown to drive again to the rim. Because KCP is switched onto Horford, the rim protection is weak and Holiday can finish the play himself.

  To start the last quarter, he goes again against Banchero from the right corner, and it seems like the young star isn’t always comfortable defending Holiday’s mix of strength and speed. This time, instead of driving in, he pulls up above him — and Banchero gets caught with his hands too close to the Celtics guard’s arms. That’s an and-one!

  But the most important — and maybe most impressive — cut came late in the fourth with less than 90 seconds to go in the game. This drive reminds me of a quote from Joe Mazzulla during the last NBA Finals when he was mic’d up:

  “Don’t try to hit a homerun on the first drive. First drive, second drive, third drive, take the best shot.”

  On this drive from Jrue Holiday, he uses Payton Pritchard’s gravity to be a step ahead on the closeout, then drives into the open space. He jumps, bumps into Wendell Carter Jr., and kicks it out to Jaylen Brown, who makes the three-pointer. Because of Pritchard’s threat as a scorer, Holiday had a better driving situation, which led to an open three for the one who usually leads the offense.

  That’s why this team is so special: all of them can benefit from each other’s strengths and build on them to also make their teammates better. A virtuous circle that will need Jrue Holiday’s willingness to drive to keep going as Jayson Tatum might miss a couple more games.

• Three Celtics starters could miss Game 3 against Orlando Magic after updated injury report

  Jayson Tatum (right wrist), Jrue Holiday (right hamstring) and Jaylen Brown (right knee posterior impingement) could all miss the Celtics’ playoff game against the Magic on Friday.

  ORLANDO — The Celtics could be without three starters ahead of Game 3 against the Orlando Magic. Jayson Tatum (right distal radius bone bruise) is doubtful to play after missing Game 2 with a wrist injury suffered in Game 1. Jrue Holiday is questionable with a right hamstring strain, and Jaylen Brown is a late addition to the injury report, now questionable with the same right knee posterior impingement that has been bothering him since mid-February.

  Tatum and Holiday were both on the injury report that the Celtics released on Thursday evening, while Brown was added to the report after the Celtics’ shootaround on Friday. Shootaround closed to the media before Tatum, Holiday, or Brown took the floor, so it’s uncertain how much they were able to get through ahead of Game 3.

  Speaking on 98.5’s Zolak and Bertrand on Thursday, Joe Mazzulla indicated the injury was perhaps more severe than initially believed.

  “He’s dealing with a severe bone bruise. He’s day-to-day,” Mazzulla said. “He’s progressively gotten a little bit better each day.”

  Celtics will carry next-man-up mentality into Game 3 if Tatum, Holiday, Brown are sidelined

  At shootaround Friday, Al Horford expressed his confidence in the team regardless of who was available to play.

  “You always want to have a full healthy team,” Horford said. “But we’ve had to deal with this all season. Because of that, other guys have had an opportunity. Whether it’s Sam Hauser coming off the bench and having an impact, Luke [Kornet], Baylor [Scheierman], whoever it is, we just have to stay ready at any moment. We’ll see what happens tonight. If that’s what needs to be done, I know our guys will be ready.”

  I asked Al Horford about the Celtics’ confidence despite injuries & he named Sam Hauser, Baylor Scheierman as guys that could step up:
  
  “You always want to have a full healthy team. But we’ve had to deal with this all season. Because of that, other guys have had an opportunity.” pic.twitter.com/ibICINBSQs

  — Noa Dalzell (@NoaDalzell) April 25, 2025

  If all three Celtics starters are sidelined, Payton Pritchard, Sam Hauser, and Al Horford will likely enter the starting lineup. Horford has been the automatic fill-in when any starter has been injured this year, while Pritchard and Hauser both seem slated to see increased minutes. It’s possible that a bench player who has yet to lace up this postseason — like Torrey Craig or Baylor Scheierman — could see some rotation minutes on Friday.

  The Celtics hold a 2-0 series lead heading into Game 3 against the Magic. Game 3 will tip off at 7pm ET in Orlando.

• Celtics protects home court against Magic, already an improvement from last year

  The Celtics are already off to a better campaign than last postseason.

  The 2024-25 NBA Playoffs are already off to a better start for the Boston Celtics than last year after the Celtics won both of their opening games of Round 1.

  As the two-seed, they earned the right to have home court advantage until the team reaches the conference finals (assuming that you play the No. 1 seed). For most teams who start the series on the road, the goal is to win one of the two road games to flip home court advantage. In the first round last year, the Miami Heat took Game 2 after Boston won the first game by 20. After losing the second game by 10, all the momentum seemed to have shifted to Miami, especially after they defeated Boston the year prior in seven games, a series where Boston kept losing at home. Luckily for Boston, they won the next three games to close out the series.

  Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

  In the second round, it was déjà vu all over again. Boston took Game 1 by 25 points and then took the foot off the gas in Game 2 and lost by 24 points to the Cleveland Cavaliers. It created a pattern of letting ‘inferior’ opponents back into the series.

  When the Orlando Magic won their Play-In game, my mind went back to the previous matchups against the Magic. Most of the games were physical during the regular season and that physicality has continued into the playoffs.

  I didn’t expect the Celtics to sweep Orlando and in both games, they were in it until the end. But winning at home is super important if the team wants to get back to the Finals. In Game 1, with the energy from the crowd, it felt like the Celtics would have enough to win.

  However, in the second game, the Magic upped the physicality and without Jayson Tatum, Boston had to make sure they didn’t get punked on their home court. Joe Mazzulla is all about learning from past mistakes and capitalizing and winning the opening two games to go to Orlando up 2-0 is a great lesson learned.

  Not only is it beneficial for Boston to win their home games, but it can also deflate their opposition’s hopes. In the opening game, Paolo Banchero had 36 points on 14-27 shooting while teammate Franz Wagner netted 23. The two of them were making every tough basket, but they still ended up falling short. On Wednesday, it was a similar story,; they threw their best punch at Boston and it still wasn’t enough. Now, they go back home in a hole needing a win.

  Kristaps Porzingis, who is beloved by the Boston faithful, talked about playing on the parquet.

  “There’s no better place to do it. The biggest stage, and getting all of this love. This is what I dreamed of,” Porzingis said.

  Winslow Townson-Imagn Images

  Home court is vital for Boston for many reasons. However, one reason that not many people are talking about is because of their away record. The Celtics had the best road record in the entire NBA at 33-8, which is incredible. Although the Celtics are road warriors, the more they can win at TD Garden, it makes it even easier and doesn’t put that pressure on them thinking they need to win a certain amount of games on the road.

  This matchup is far from over but with a 2-0 lead, the pressure is on Orlando to come back to Boston with the series tied while Boston will look to return to Boston having advanced to the second round.

• Parquet plays: Celtics Pride is Payton Pritchard and Payton Pritchard is Celtics Pride

  Fresh off winning the Sixth Man of the Year award, PP showed out again in Game 2.

  Wednesday night’s Game 2 win will be remembered by one image:

  "I like watching him bleed on the court."
  
  Joe Mazzulla appreciates the blood, sweat and tears from Kristaps Porziņģis
  
  (via @zm_cox) pic.twitter.com/MQN4llVsZ7

  — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) April 24, 2025

  There were certainly other instances of infamy. I’m sure Al Horford didn’t take it too kindly that Kentavious Caldwell-Pope tripped him in transition after Horford had already accused him of “something extra” when he hard-fouled Jayson Tatum in Game 1.

  As visceral as though plays were, I’m going to mentally bookmark two others in Wednesday night’s win. Fresh off being named the 2025 Sixth Man of the Year, Payton Pritchard delivered in Game 2 with fourteen points. The scoring will always be Pritchard’s calling card. His 246 triples off the bench were the most in NBA history and the three threes he hit in Game 2 were momentum-making shots in the gritty win.

  However, Pritchard is also an underrated defender, a part of his game that should be equally spotlighted with his high-volume, 40.7 3FG% this year. So far as a primary defender in this series, the Magic are shooting just 4-of-15 against Pritchard, including 2-of-9 when he’s targeted by Orlando’s star duo, Franz Wagner and Paolo Banchero. Case in point:

  Payton Pritchard won Sixth Man of the Year bc of his offense, but the dude gets it done at the other end of the floor every night. Look at this. Against Paolo Banchero -- who has nine inches and 55 pounds on him. This is ridiculous! pic.twitter.com/yThgDXLWbL

  — Marc D'Amico (@Marc_DAmico) April 24, 2025

  Kristaps Porzingis catches that errant elbow from Goga Bitadze on that Banchero miss and that will be the lasting image, let’s not forget the picture-perfect defense from the 6’1 David on the 6’10 Goliath. KP gets gashed between the eyes, but Pritchard is the one slingshotting stones.

  And with Orlando nibbling at the Celtics double-digit lead in the final minutes, we get some PP magic of our own. Leveraging his three-point gravity, Pritchard not only cuts back door late in to the shot clock, but as soon as he gets lost in the trees, he’s crafty enough to slip out of the woods and with that Sixth sense, conjure up an and-1.

  There goes that Sixth Man pic.twitter.com/wNeDQ712m0

  — Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 24, 2025

  If it bleeds, it leads. I get it. But those two plays from Pritchard are more indicative of what this series has so far been about for the Celtics: being able to defend Orlando’s two stars with an all-hands-on-deck approach and just figuring it out on the offensive end despite the Magic’s physicality.

  There might have been a natural tendency to shy away from the contact and chuck up more shots from behind the arc. However, the Celtics haved matched Orlando blow-for-blow with Boston’s big men taking the brunt of the Magic’s brutishness and their smallest player landing body blows of his own.

  Job ain't finished pic.twitter.com/GTnhfSJvF5

  — Boston Celtics (@celtics) April 24, 2025

• Celtics injury report features surprise addition ahead of Game 3 against Magic

  Jayson Tatum is doubtful with a right wrist bone bruise, while Jrue Holiday is a new addition with a hamstring strain. Both Celtics starters could miss Game 3 against the Orlando Magic.

  ORLANDO — The Celtics have officially put out their injury report ahead of Game 3 against the Orlando Magic, and two starters are on the list: Jayson Tatum is listed as doubtful with a right distal radius bone bruise, while Jrue Holiday is questionable with a right hamstring strain.

  Tatum is fresh off the first playoff absence of his 7-year Celtics tenure; after hurting his wrist in Game 1, he was ruled out of Game 2 about 45 minutes before gametime. X-rays showed there was no break after the game, but an MRI later indicated a “severe” bone bruise, as Joe Mazzulla later described it.

  What we know about Jayson Tatum’s “severe” bone bruise

  In his weekly radio interview on 98.5’s Zolak and Bertrand on Thursday, Mazzulla didn’t rule out Tatum playing in Game 3, but his update indicated the injury was perhaps more severe than initially believed.

  “He’s dealing with a severe bone bruise. He’s day-to-day,” Mazzulla said. “He’s progressively gotten a little bit better each day.”

  Photo by Maddie Meyer/Getty Images

  “Yesterday, he went through all the protocols and did everything he could possibly do, up until the last moment to try and play. Just wasn’t able to do it. But he’ll go back at it again today, and he’s in that day-to-day process right now. He’ll do whatever it takes to put himself in position to play and put our team in position to win. That’s just kind of who he is. We’re just trusting that.”

  Tatum has only missed two or more games in a row four times in his career.

  Jrue Holiday’s right hamstring strain appears to be new

  Jrue Holiday has had a strong first two games so far to begin the postseason, keying a crucial third-quarter run in Game 1 and having an all-around impact in Game 3.

  But, Holiday was a surprise addition to the injury report on Thursday afternoon, listed as questionable with a right hamstring strain. Holiday played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter on Wednesday and did not appear to be limited.

  Outside of Tatum and Holiday, no other Celtics were on the injury report. Jaylen Brown, who has battled a bone bruise in his right knee since mid-February, continues to play through the pain. He rested for the final three games of the regular season, and received pain injections ahead of the postseason.

  Al Horford is likely to continue starting in Tatum’s absence. Payton Pritchard or Sam Hauser are likely to replace Holiday in the starting lineup, should he miss Game 3 with the hamstring strain.

  The Celtics, who now have a 2-0 lead against the Magic, will hold shootaround on Friday morning ahead of Game 3.