The Boston Celtics are back in the NBA playoffs and will try to defend their title in 2025. That title defense began with a first-round series victory over the Orlando Magic in five games. Boston took care of business at home in Games 1 and 2. However, the Magic picked up their first win of the series, 95-93, in Game 3 to make things interesting. The Magic battled the defending champions in Game 4 on Sunday, but the Celtics eventually prevailed 107-98 to take a 3-1 series lead. The Celtics then closed it out and eliminated the Magic in blowout fashion in Game 5, 120-89, on Tuesday night.
The Celtics went 61-21 in the regular season, finishing second in the Eastern Conference behind the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Magic, meanwhile, earned the No. 7 seed in the East bracket with their Play-In Tournament win over the Atlanta Hawks.
The Celtics were dominant as expected in the regular season, and they went 29-6 in their last 35 games. Jayson Tatum appears headed to his fourth consecutive All-NBA First Team selection after scoring 26.8 points per game. The Celtics had five players average at least 14 points per game in the regular season: Tatum, Jayson Brown, Kristaps Porziņģis, Derrick White and Sixth Man of the Year Payton Pritchard. Boston cruised through the East playoffs last season, going a combined 12-2 against the Heat, Cavaliers and Pacers.
The Magic finished 41-41 in an up-and-down regular season. Orlando started the year 15-7 and was six games under .500 as late as March 19, but the team finished by winning nine of its final 12 games. Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner both dealt with injuries along the way, but they were great when they were on the court. Banchero averaged 25.9 points per game in 46 games, while Wagner averaged 24.2 points in 60 appearances.
Celtics vs. Magic schedule, results
All times Eastern
Game 1: Celtics 103, Magic 86
Game 2: Celtics 109, Magic 100
Game 3: Magic 95, Celtics 93
Game 4: Celtics 107, Magic 98
Game 5: Celtics 120, Magic 89 (Boston wins, 4-1)
CBS Sports will have updates and analysis below throughout the Celtics-Magic series.
