The Boston Celtics have taken a step towards regaining the trophy by seizing commands from their first round series.
The Boston Celtics, who joined the series with Orlando Magic, were my favorites. If the lead of the 3-1 series does not progress, it will be an absolute shock.
Before the Celtics returned to Game 4 and scored 107-98, the Magic scored Game 3 to narrow down the deficit.
Jason Tatum was key to victory, winning his 70th career playoff game in the process, adding his name to the elite players before reaching 27 years old.
Jason Tatum scored 37 points in the Boston Celtics 4 victory over the Orlando Magic and also grabbed 14 rebounds.
Teammate Kristaps Porzingis scored 19 in Game 4 from a poor performance of 7 points in Game 3.
After the game, Porzingis looked back at his progress seen from Jason Tatum over the past two seasons.
The Celtics made a deal with Porzingis in June 2023. This is the prelude to the team that won the NBA Championship in 2024.
Following his latest victory in Orlando, Porzingis told Noah Dalzel that Tatum hit him as he sank into a critical second half.
“Three hits he made towards the end of the game, I thought, ‘This guy is special.’
“From the time I came here until now, he developed more killer instincts.”
Tatum needed the killer’s instinct to help the Celtics win the Mavericks’ NBA title in 2024.
As he is no longer defined as a man, Tatum has a belief, which will become even more dangerous with him in 2025.
Jason Tatum is currently at a high standard, but he believes another Boston Celtics player is key to leading the team.
Tatum told CLNS Boston Post Game that he was blown away by what he saw from his veteran teammate Al Horford.
He states:
“That kind of thing sets the tone for everyone else. He has the heart of a champion.”
Horford played 35 minutes and played a valuable role in defence to facilitate tasks like Tatum and Jaylen Brown.