The Boston Celtics opened the 2025 NBA Playoffs with a 103-86 victory over the Orlando Magic. From a one-point halftime deficit, the defending NBA champions dominated the second half, 55-37, to complete the emphatic win.
Surprisingly, it’s the other guys who stepped up for Celtics as Derrick White finished with 30 points thanks to seven three-point conversions. Peyton Pritchard, this season’s Sixth Man of the Year winner, delivered 19 points in 25 minutes.
As White and Pritchard waxed hot from the three-point arc, the Celtics’ main guys took a back seat, a scary proposition for those who will stand in their way toward a potential 19th NBA championship. Kristaps Porzingis finished with five points, Jrue Holiday added nine, and Jayson Tatum finished with 17 points and 14 rebounds.
Meanwhile, Jaylen Brown contributed 16 points, five rebounds, two assists, and two steals in 30- minutes. His shot wasn’t falling as he converted only six out of 14 field goal attempts. Luckily for him, the Celtics have an enviable rotation featuring players who can take over at any given night.
However, while Brown’s performance is a far cry from the standards that made him last season’s NBA Finals MVP, he garnered some headlines after injecting some puns about their Eastern Conference Playoffs first round opponents.
Jaylen Brown revisits Hogwarts in his pre-Game 1 comment
In a mic’d up moment during the shootaround before the series-opening game against the Eastern Conference’s seventh seed, Brown said, “I told you. I think I will be playing with energy. They the Magic but they know who really got the magic over here, no Harry Potter.”
Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp
If SGA or Ant said this, the glaze would be insane. And to be fair, he said this in a mic’d up moment. pic.twitter.com/fJWDMZL90D
— CELTICS ☘️ BANNER 19 (@BiggLynch) April 21, 2025
That Brown is one of the more cerebral players in today’s NBA is an understatement. During his first semester at the University of California Berkeley, he took a Masters-level class at the university’s Cultural Studies of Sport Education. Jaylen Brown is also a Vice President of the NBA Players Association since 2019.
While the Celtics stunned the Magic in Game 1, Brown and company will still need three more victories to close out the upstart Orlando squad. Bringing the magic that made them last season’s champions could help them advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals.
MORE CELTICS NEWS:
- Celtics make historical Jayson Tatum, Larry Bird announcement
- Charles Barkley talks Celtics guard Payton Pritchard: 'He built his game'
- Jayson Tatum could do something he hasn’t in his playoff career after recent injury