By Khari Thompson, The Boston Globe
April 20, 2025
The Celtics and Magic entered their first-round playoff series on opposite ends of the 3-point spectrum.
The Celtics made an NBA-record 1,457 3-pointers during the regular season. They took 5.8 more 3-point attempts per game than Golden State, which finished second in that category. More than half of the Celtics’ field-goal attempts were 3-pointers.
Orlando is different. The Magic made a league-worst 11.2 3-pointers per game and finished 28th in the league in scoring at 105.4 points per game.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla is not taking the Magic lightly despite those numbers. The Magic led by one at the half Sunday, but the Celtics were able to pull away for a series-opening victory
“They’re well coached. I think they’re better than a 7-seed,” Mazzulla said before Boston’s 103-86 victory Sunday, in which 37 of its 82 shots were from distance. “To me, regardless of all that stuff, I think it comes down to the margins. They have an innate ability to get to the free throw line. We have to keep them off the free-throw line. They’re a great rebounding team, we have to rebound the basketball.
“They’re physical defensively, we have to make sure we’re physical and don’t turn the ball over. Those margins, regardless of what time of year or what type of game it is, those things are the most important and if you execute those you’ve got a chance to win. If you don’t, it puts more pressure on you.”
Orlando led the league in blocks per game (6.0), ranked second in defensive rating (109.1), and was sixth in steals (8.9). They are without defensive stopper Jalen Suggs, who had season-ending knee surgery.
Magic coach Jamahl Mosley said sticking to defensive principles and getting off to a hot start offensively will be important.
“It’s big. They always come out of the gates hot,” Mosley said. ”They’re alive for the playoff run. Their early games, they’ve gotten out to big leads and so our ability just to sustain our effort and come out and hit first.”
Payton Pritchard is one of three finalists for the NBA Sixth Man of the Year award, the league announced Sunday.
The other two finalists are Pistons guard Malik Beasley and Cavaliers guard Ty Jerome.
Pritchard averaged a career-high 14.3 points and shot 40.7 percent on 3-pointers during the regular season.
The 6-foot-1-inch, 195-pound guard knocked down 4 of his 6 3-point attempts on Sunday, chipping in 19 points and three assists. Mazzulla said he liked the pace Pritchard played at, along with his ball pressure on defense.
Payton Pritchard, named a Sixth Man of the Year finalist on Sunday, sank 4 of 6 from long distance and finished with 19 points in the Celtics’ Game 1 win over the Magic. – Barry Chin/Globe Staff
“I thought he was just as good defensively as he was offensively,” Mazzulla said. “Just him pushing the pace on the offensive end, but really his physicality at the point of attack was big for us.”
Orlando lost to Cleveland in seven games in the first round last year. It was the Magic’s first playoff appearance since 2020.
Testing their skills against the defending champions will be a good experience for the Magic and their young stars, Mosley said.
“I think it’s a big time opportunity for all of our guys to experience this level of competition,” Mosley said. “There’s levels to it and we all understand that. The more you go through different levels of what you need to do to reach the mountaintop, I think it’s very good for this group to experience this in this environment against this opponent.”
Mazzulla said he enjoys coaching playoff basketball on Easter. The coach, who doesn’t shy away from talking about his Catholic faith, doesn’t mind working on the holiday.
“I cherish it,” Mazzulla said. ”I think it’s become part of just our family and who we are. I don’t think there’s anything better than Easter and the Celtics. We get Christmas, Easter, and the Celtics, so what’s better than that?”
There’s nothing quite like the playoffs for keeping coaches on their toes.
“Every game takes on a life of its own based on different circumstances,” Mazzulla said. “Who is playing well, who is not, just got to be ready to answer the call of what each game has in store for us.”
Jayson Tatum took a painful spill on a dunk attempt with 8:28 to go in the fourth quarter. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope was whistled for a Flagrant 1 foul on the play. Tatum stayed in the game, and received MVP chants while he took his free throws.
“I just landed on it, it was throbbing for a second, and it kind of went away,” Tatum said.
Tatum had X-rays after the game, which he said came back negative.
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