Mission Accomplished: The Celtics Leave Orlando With A Massive Win To Take A Commanding 3-1 Series Lead

Julio Aguilar. Getty Images.

Is there a part of me that's still pretty annoyed that this Game 4 win didn't result in a series sweep because of how poor the Celts played in Game 3? Yeah, a little. I won't lie. But at the end of the day the entire mission of this trip was to at least secure a split to take a 3-1 series lead, and the defending Champs went on the road, got a split, and return home with a 3-1 series lead. 

The goal now of course, is to make sure there is no need to book a return flight to Florida. Take care of your shit at home in Game 5 so you can be done with this team and begin to focus on what looks to be the Knicks in Round 2.

I still wouldn't say the Celts have played all that well at any point this postseason, certainly not when it comes to playing to their own standard. Another generally pretty awful shooting performance (43/29%) combined with some sloppy turnovers and mental lapses, it feels like every game this series has been more about just finding a way to win. Whatever the game calls for in that moment, figure out how to execute and find a way to win. 

Tonight, that came on a night where nobody could make a 3, the bench was once again nonexistent in terms of production, and things were tied 91-91 with 4 minutes to go. Those are the moments champions rise up and find a way to win, which is exactly what happened

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When it came time to close the door on the Magic, NBA Champion Jayson Tatum was happy to oblige. This is what playoff basketball is all about. A battle to see if your best can beat your opponents' best, and the thing about Jayson Tatum is the fact that his best is better than anyone other's best

A performance like this is why I've always said it's better to have Jayson Tatum on your favorite basketball team than not. I can't imagine having to stop this guy. No wonder so many opposing fanbases hate him, he keeps going on the road and ripping out hearts every postseason. I've loved everything about what we've seen from Tatum in this series. The size and physicality of ORL hasn't mattered for him at all. He gets what he wants, when he wants it regardless of what time of the game it happens to be. Early, late, from every zone, it was all great.

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Add in his partner in crime, Jaylen Brown had a 22/11 of his own and DWhite stepped up with massive 4th quarter buckets down the stretch 

and this was the exact type of tough playoff road win that you're going to need on the journey up the mountain. These games aren't easy, they require execution in high-leverage situations, and the champions figure it out. It wasn't the first time this was required so far this postseason, and it most certainly will not be the last. 

Part of what made the Game 3 loss so annoying was that the main thing we all know the Celts need to do is to make sure they play as short a series as possible. Not playing with their food is EXTREMELY important. After dropping Game 3, that made tonight pretty much a must win given the goal is to not have these things bleed into a 6 to 7 game series. To see how they responded coming off that loss was encouraging, and then to see them also come through again when the Magic made one final push was the icing on the cake. The Celts closed this game on a 16-7 run, which wasn't an accident. They locked in. They gave the ball to Jayson Tatum on one end and then got stops on the other. 

They found a way to win.

We'll dive more into the details tomorrow. For now, we exhale. The job isn't finished, but this was a big W to snag. 

3 down, 13 to go. LFG.