The Boston Celtics lead the Orlando Magic 1-0 in their first-round series. Their lead comes courtesy of a 103-86 win on Sunday at TD Garden. The hosts outpaced their guests 55-37 in a dominant second-half display.
However, with Boston leading by 16 early in the final frame, a Jayson Tatum drive led to a heart-pausing moment for Celtics' fans.
After the NBA's reigning champions' victory, Tatum took to the podium. When asked about the pain he dealt with while lying on the TD Garden parquet, clutching his wrist, he conveyed, "I just landed on it. It was throbbing for a second."
Tatum also shared that he got an x-ray on his wrist on the heels of Boston's series-opening win.
"It's clean. It's good," shared Tatum.
Celtics' supporting cast picks up stars in Game 1 win
Tatum finished with 17 points on 22 shots on Sunday. However, while it wasn't an efficient evening, he grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds, helping the Celtics limit the Magic to three offensive rebounds in the second half after they had ten in the first.
The six-time All-Star also dished out four assists, swiped a steal, and got credited with blocking a Franz Wagner layup attempt as the latter gathered the ball off the dribble and tried to go into his shooting motion.
Jaylen Brown wasn't efficient either. Last year's NBA Finals MVP registered 16 points on 6/14 shooting (42.9 percent). Brown's dealing with a knee injury that required pain management injections, per ESPN's Ramona Shelburne. He played the entire third quarter before sitting the final frame.
Still, the four-time All-Star made his time on the court productive, delivering one hustle play after another. That included a sequence where Brown picked off a Franz Wagner pass and hustled back in-bounds to retrieve the ball after Jrue Holiday's layup got blocked, leading to a Derrick White three.
However, Boston needed to find alternative sources of offensive firepower. The hosts primarily turned to White and Payton Pritchard.
White generated a team-high 30 points in Game 1. He buried 7/12 shots from beyond the arc against Orlando, who limited opponents to the fewest three-point makes and attempts in the regular season.
"I think my teammates were doing a good job of driving, and they commit, and I was usually the one that was open," said White after his game-ball-worthy performance.
As for Pritchard, he came off the bench to produce his most points in a playoff game, putting 19 on the board.
The former Oregon Duck was an instant source of offense, providing 11 points in his first 4:47 on the floor. He ended the evening 6/8 from the field, including 4/7 from three-point range.
After Boston's Game 1 win, his head coach raved about Pritchard's performance to Hardwood Houdini.
"His ball pressure. I thought he was just as good defensively as he was offensively. His pushing the pace at the offensive end was big for us. But really, his physicality at the point of attack was big for us. And I think he got two tip-out lead runs in the second half that were big for us…[he] just made things happen."
Pritchard's playoff-best comes on the same day he found out he's a finalist for the NBA's Sixth Man of the Year Award. It's an honor Pritchard spoke about the significance of potentially winning in an exclusive and wide-ranging interview with this author.
Even when Tatum and Brown are at their best, the Celtics become a juggernaut when White and Pritchard have it rolling alongside them. But in games like their series opener against the Magic, those two stepping up becomes a necessity to reaching the win column.
