BOSTON — All-Star wings Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 58 points on 19-of-34 shooting (55.9%) Tuesday, as the Celtics eliminated the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series, 120-89.
Boston awaits the winner of a first-round series between the New York Knicks and Detroit Pistons. The Pistons, who staved off elimination on Tuesday, host the Knicks in Game 6 on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
It was as if the Celtics needed only a lead, any lead, to break this game open.
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The Magic controlled much of the first half, taking a 49-47 advantage into the break and stretching that lead to five in the early going of the third quarter. And then their momentum halted. Or Tatum halted it.
Tatum made Boston’s first 3-pointer of the night — yes, its first 3-pointer of the night (more on that in a minute) — two minutes into the third quarter, cutting that five-point deficit to 53-51. Brown drove the lane for an old-fashioned three-point play and the lead on the next possession. From there it was over.
The Celtics outscored the Magic in the third quarter, 36-13, to take a 21-point lead into the final frame. They made five of their eight 3-point attempts in the third. Tatum made all three of his. He and Brown, Boston’s championship combination, totaled 22 points on nine shots, both playing the entire quarter.
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Meanwhile, Boston’s defense stifled Orlando. The Magic shot just 6-of-22 in the third quarter, missing all 11 of their 3-point attempts. They committed five turnovers, leading to 10 Celtics points. They committed eight fouls and registered a single assist. It was a master class in what not to do in an elimination game.
The Celtics entered the playoffs attempting 48.2 3-pointers per game, the most of any team ever and six more than any other team this season. It is what they do. Except they entered Game 5 attempting just 33 3-pointers a night in this series, 11th among the NBA’s 16-team playoff field. Limiting 3s is what the Magic do. The 31.4 3-point attempts per game they allowed during the regular season also led the league.
“It is our identity,” Magic head coach Jamahl Mosley said in the pregame. “We’re going to sit down and guard. We’re going to be physical. We’re going to be handsy. We’re going to do the right thing. We’re going to shrink the floor, get out to shooters, understand who we’re closing out to. That’s just who we’ve been.”
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Something had to give, and for the first half of Tuesday’s game it was Orlando that would not allow an inch. Boston did not make a single one of only six attempts from distance in the first half. It was only the second time all season that a team — any team, let alone the Celtics — did not make a 3 in the first half.
So, instead, the Celtics attacked the rim. They doubled up the Magic in the paint in the first half, 32-16, shooting 62.5% from inside the 3-point line. It is what helped Boston enter the break with a two-point deficit, despite its 3-point struggles. That and the fact that the Magic did not shoot the lights out, either.
Paolo Banchero is the kind of player you can build a playoff winner around. The Magic may not have won the series, but they gave the defending champions all they could handle over five games, and Banchero was a primary factor. At 22 years old he is a full-grown man, though his game has plenty of room to grow.
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“He’s impressed me since the moment he got here,” said Mosley.
The 6-foot-10, 250-pound Banchero is hard to get off his spot and just as hard to keep from getting to his next one. He plays with the poise of a veteran, surveying the floor, manipulating the defense and either using his strength to gain an advantage or using his vision to find a clearer edge. It is the kind of all-around game that translates well to the playoffs, and it sure did against one of the league’s best teams.
Banchero entered Game 5 averaging 32 points (on 44/44/65 shooting splits), 8.3 rebounds and 3.8 assists. He did not have his finest game on Tuesday and still collected 19 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
There was a lot to like from him in this series, enough for us to believe — with the addition of a couple of capable shooters around him — that he can make the Magic a home playoff seed as soon as next season.
