BOSTON (AP) — When Magic star Paolo Banchero went to the bench with five fouls, the Boston Celtics pulled away and cruised into the Eastern Conference semifinals.
Jayson Tatum had 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and the Celtics abandoned their usual 3-point barrage to beat Orlando 120-89 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.
The defending NBA champions will play either the New York Knicks or Detroit Pistons in the second round. The Knicks lead their series 3-2 despite falling 106-103 earlier Tuesday in New York.
“You just have to find different ways,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, whose team set NBA records in the regular season for the most 3-point baskets but made none at all in the first half — a first in almost four years.
“That’s what this series called for. Every series calls for different things,” Mazzulla said. “You have to be able to win in different ways on both sides of the ball.”
Franz Wagner scored 25 points, Banchero had 19 and Wendell Carter Jr. had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who have not won a playoff series since Dwight Howard, Vince Carter and coach Stan Van Gundy led them to the Eastern Conference finals in 2010.
Boston fell behind by nine in the first half, and Orlando still led 51-47 early in the third quarter when Banchero picked up his fourth foul; just 79 seconds later, he picked up his fifth, a call that sent an apoplectic coach Jamahl Mosley to the officials, demanding a review.
The replay showed Banchero stepped into Jaylen Brown as he shot, and the Magic forward went to the bench, where he stayed for the rest of the quarter. In that time, Boston scored 31 of the next 40 points to open an 83-62 lead.
“It definitely swung the series. It definitely swung the game,” Mosley said. “All I saw is Paolo getting an elbow to the face or back into the face — and he got the foul. That was a game-changer right there. Your best player picks up his fifth foul in the third quarter. It’s tough to come back from that moment.”
Brown scored 23 points for Boston.
Tatum, who injured his wrist on a hard foul in Game 1 and missed Game 2, returned with three straight games of at least 35 points. He was 11 for 11 from the free-throw line — he has not missed a foul shot since Game 1 — and 10 for 16 from the field, making four of five 3-point attempts.
The Celtics attempted only six 3-pointers in the first half and made none. It was the first time they went into halftime without a 3 since 2021.
Tatum made their first 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but it would be another seven minutes before he made their second. During the regular season, they made one, on average, every 2 minutes, 42 seconds.
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