‘It’s all about getting to that level’: Jayson Tatum leads Celtics past Magic

BOSTON — If a person had questions about how Jayson Tatum’s right wrist is, all one would have to do is watch him make a 3-pointer. It’s not his shooting mechanics that need to be monitored, but rather what the Celtics forward does afterward.

After missing Game 2 with a wrist injury, Tatum coined a new celebration: raising both arms to the sky while holding with right wrist with his left hand as he runs down the court, which pokes fun at his ailment. It doesn’t matter if Tatum drives to the hoop or drills a step-back from behind the arc; he’s shown an offensive freedom that creates a lethal dynamic for opposing defenses to deal with.

It can all be credited to a changed mentality, one that could only be unlocked once Tatum won his first NBA championship. Since that moment in June 2024, Tatum has been able to allow everything to develop at his own pace.

That approach was key for Tatum’s 35-point performance in the Celtics’ Game 5 120-89 victory, which propelled them past the Magic and clinched their first-round series in five games.

“It just kind of allows me to focus on the task ahead,” Tatum said. “I'm not worried about trying to prove anybody wrong or anything like that, understanding I know what I'm capable of. I know what we are when we play a certain way. We've shown that. So it's all about getting to that level.”

The Celtics’ scoring plan throughout the regular season focused on attempting a large quantity of 3-pointers with all their players to achieve an offense that made the most 3-pointers in a season. Orlando’s pesky 3-point defense challenged that philosophy, even a team with a record 1,457 triples.

None of that stopped Tatum.

Game 5 marked the third consecutive postseason contest in which Tatum finished with 35 or more points, the first such stretch through his eight professional seasons. He shot 10-of-16 from the field, not including his perfect 11-of-11 mark from the charity strip, with eight rebounds and 10 assists.

It took Boston until the 10:22 mark of the third quarter to finally score its first 3-pointer, missing all six of its first-half attempts. Tatum was the first Celtic to hit a 3-pointer, sparking a 5-of-8 mark in the quarter that largely contributed to a 24-4 scoring run. Tatum made all three of his third-quarter attempts from deep, helping turn a two-point deficit into a 22-point lead entering the fourth quarter.

“We just did a good job of understanding how they were defending,” head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “Every team has different strengths and weaknesses. Every team guards us differently. I thought the regular season gave us tremendous data on the different ways that we were going to be defended and what that looks like. So [Tatum] did a great job of staying patient going through his progressions, whether it was him screening in the first couple games, him handling the last few games, and in this game, in the third quarter, his play there. So at the end of the day, every game is different. Every team is different. You'd have to be ready to answer the call. Play solution-oriented basketball, and I thought he did that.”

Orlando succeeded in limiting 3-point attempts, as Boston’s 48.2 3-pointers per game dropped to 31.2 through five first-round playoff games. But when it mattered most in a win-and-advance contest, Tatum led a barrage of deep shots that pushed Boston forward.

The Celtics, who scored the fewest per-game average for paint points, finished with 48 points in the paint in Game 5, an increase of 6.8 points from their season average. Tatum’s 10 points around the basket were second only to Jaylen Brown, who finished with 12 paint points.

“Orlando did a good job of trying to make us play a different style of ball, and I think we had adjusted to that well,” Brown said. “I think going into the playoffs, everybody was concerned with our 3-point shooting. They wanted to take away our 3-point shooting. Or do we shoot too many threes? Can we win games? And I think we didn't shoot a lot of threes in this whole entire series, and we had to still win games in the trenches.

"So I think it was a great challenge for us, and I think there's a great step for us moving forward and a series that we can learn from.”

The Celtics will now await the winner of the Knicks and Pistons series, which will play Game 6 on Thursday. Regardless of who advances to face the Celtics, it’s likely they won’t be able to limit 3-point attempts like the Magic did. The start date for the following round has not been announced by the NBA, but what is certain is that the Celtics will get to rest their key contributors, many of whom have played through injuries in the first round.

“It was probably exactly what we needed,” Tatum said. “Good test [in the] first round. A couple guys really banged up and dealing with some things, but showing that mental toughness of getting up and getting ready for each game, and doing whatever it takes, whatever the game calls for, and just figuring out a way to win.

"That's all that matters this time of the year, and as a group, we've been through it all. We showed it and proved it in this series and looking forward to the next one.”