Boston Celtics respond to Magic physical tactics after Game 2 win (2025)

BOSTON — One physical foul kept Jayson Tatum sidelined for Game 2 of the Celtics-Magic series on Wednesday night. Al Horford was on alert in Game 2 after watching Kentavious Caldwell-Pope hit Tatum with several hard fouls in Game 1 and found himself a victim of Caldwell-Pope in Game 2 when the Magic guard collided and tripped Horford to break up a transition opportunity for Boston.

Horford was held back by Joe Mazzulla and Jrue Holiday after the collision, ultimately keeping his composure as he walked down the floor. The sequence was reflective of another physical battle for Boston as they held on for a 109-100 victory at TD Garden to take a 2-0 series lead.

Kristaps Porzingis was another one of Orlando’s victims after taking an elbow from Goga Bitazde in the third quarter but he refused to get intimidated.

“We’re going to be us,” Porzingis said after the win. “We’re not going to let anybody punk us. And we expect teams to be doing this kind of stuff, to get in our heads, to try to provoke us, to try to maybe get some reaction out of us, some technical maybe, something. It’s an emotional game, obviously, so we weren’t surprised but we’re just not going to take it. So we’re going to hit them right back.”

Payton Pritchard embraced the fact that the Celtics had to play with an extra layer of toughness throughout the hard fought win.

“It’s the playoffs, baby,” Pritchard said. “That’s what it is, so we knew what they were going to do. That’s what I told Al after, I’m like, ‘It’s just fun. This is basketball now.’”

The Celtics will have to bring that mentality to Orlando now as they try to continue their momentum in front of a less friendly environment at Amway Arena. With the possibility that Jayson Tatum could be sidelined for one more game, Joe Mazzulla wants to make sure his team keeps their composure.

“I mean, we’re not responding to anything,” Mazzulla said of the Magic’s physicality. “We’re just playing the game, I mean, every game is different. There’s no, like, response. It’s just, ‘Hey, be aware of your environment.’ What’s the environment need? And do it. Do it as a team. What’s the most important thing? Focus on the margins, the details, the execution, the toughness, all those things. So it’s not really, we’re not responding to anything. We’re out there playing, and we’re reading the environment, and then we’re just taking what the environment gives us and going from there.”