NBA Playoff: Jayson Tatum-led Boston Celtics destroyed Orlando Magic in a thriller Game 5 win

The Orlando Magic faced another crushing defeat against the Boston Celtics on Tuesday’s NBA playoff Game 5. The Celtics, led by Jayson Tatum, secured a huge 120-89 win at the TD Garden in Boston. With the latest victory, the home team secured a stunning 4-1 series win, making their playoff picture more radiant in the process.

The Orlando Magic struggled offensively in their latest matchup, shooting just 37.5% from the field and a dismal 21.1% from beyond the arc. Franz Wagner led the team in scoring with 25 points, going 10-for-22 from the floor, but missed all four of his three-point attempts. He went a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line and added four rebounds and four assists in 40 minutes of action. Paolo Banchero contributed 19 points and nearly had a double-double with nine rebounds. He was more efficient from deep, hitting two of his four three-point attempts and going 5-of-7 at the line.

Wendell Carter Jr. added 12 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, recording a double-double. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope chipped in with 8 points and three rebounds, but like many of his teammates, struggled with his shot, hitting just 3-of-9 overall. The starting five combined for 64 of the team's 89 total points, but the lack of scoring depth and poor shooting percentages limited their impact.
Off the bench, Anthony Black scored 8 points and tied for the second-most rebounds on the team with eight, but he also picked up eight personal fouls. Cory Joseph went scoreless in over 20 minutes and missed all five of his shots. Jett Howard was a bright spot, making both of his field goal attempts, both from three, for six points in under four minutes. However, the rest of the bench combined for just three points.
Orlando committed 33 personal fouls. They turned the ball over nine times and only blocked two shots on defense.

The Boston Celtics put together a dominant team performance, led by Jayson Tatum’s 35-point night. Tatum was highly efficient, hitting 10 of his 16 shots, including 4-of-5 from three-point range, and made all 11 of his free throws. He also added 10 assists and 8 rebounds in just over 34 minutes, finishing with a game-best +34 in the plus-minus column. Al Horford had a strong outing as well, scoring 9 points on 4-of-5 shooting while grabbing 6 rebounds and dishing out 4 assists.

Jaylen Brown scored 23 points on 50% shooting from the field. He hit 2-of-4 from deep and added 6 rebounds and 3 assists. Kristaps Porzingis contributed 9 points but shot just 3-of-8 and struggled from three, missing all three attempts. Still, he knocked down three of four free throws. Derrick White had a quiet game offensively with 5 points, but he made an impact with 5 assists and 4 rebounds.
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From Boston’s bench, Luke Kornet and Sam Hauser were both perfect from the field, scoring 9 and 10 points, respectively. Payton Pritchard added another 10 points, including two made three-pointers. In a limited time, Torrey Craig, Neemias Queta, and Baylor Scheierman combined for 10 points, each making the most of their short stints on the floor. JD Davison, Jordan Walsh, and Xavier Tillman saw limited or no action, with Tillman marked as a DNP.