NBA playoff takeaways: Celtics take 2-0 series lead over Magic with Jayson Tatum sidelined

By James Jackson, Jay King, Josh Robbins, Joe Vardon, Jenna West and Jared Weiss

The Boston Celtics and Orlando Magic kicked off Wednesday’s NBA playoff action, which finished with a Celtics 109-100 win at home.

Boston played without star Jayson Tatum, but the team found its rhythm as Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 36 points and the Celtics took a 2-0 series lead. On Friday, the series heads to Orlando, where the Magic will look to bounce back at the Kia Center.

Later, the Cleveland Cavaliers took a 2-0 lead in their series against the Heat after Miami dominated the fourth quarter in a comeback attempt. However, the Cavs held the Heat off in a 121-112 win to hold the advantage heading into Game 3 in Miami on Saturday.

Cavaliers 121, Heat 112

(Cleveland leads series 2-0)

Cavs hold off the Heat

So often this season, any singular Cavaliers’ victory, rare loss or routine stretch of good play was met with a comparison to the Boston Celtics. Do they have enough? Can they beat Boston? And so on.

The playoffs should not, nor will they be, in this space, like that. Just get four wins, by any means necessary, and worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.

In that light, Cleveland has done its job, taking a 2-0 lead in this first-round series with Miami. It doesn’t matter that the Heat were 27 games behind the Cavs during the regular season, or that Jimmy Butler is gone, or that coach Erik Spoelstra decided not to play the key player Miami received in return for Butler — Andrew Wiggins — down the stretch of a close game. Also, never mind that the Cavaliers were up by 19 in the third quarter, by 13 at the start of the fourth and saw their lead trimmed to 2 points.

Just find a way to win.

Donovan Mitchell scored 17 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter, including a crucial stretch of eight in a row after Miami had cut it to 105-103 with 3:11 left. Darius Garland scored seven of his 21 points in the fourth quarter, too. That’s two games in this series where Mitchell and Garland have excelled offensively.

DONOVAN MITCHELL. CLUTCH.

8 STRAIGHT POINTS IN CRUNCH TIME TO KEEP THE CAVS AHEAD!

Heat/Cavs | Game 2 | NBA TV pic.twitter.com/EnFPNOQN0b

— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2025

Evan Mobley could very well learn that he is the NBA Defensive Player of the Year on Thursday. He was matched up with Bam Adebayo and kept him to 3-of-9 shooting while scoring 20 points himself.

Cleveland made 11 3s in the second quarter, an NBA record for 3s in a quarter in the playoffs. Playoffs. The Cavs connected on 14 3s in the first half, the second-most in any half in the playoffs in franchise history. Their 22 3s are tied for the sixth most in NBA playoff history. A similar second-half effort in Miami this weekend will likely get Cleveland beat. There is plenty to tighten up, but I think much of it has to do with focus after building such a big lead.

Worry about that tomorrow. For now, 2-0 is as good as it sounds. — Joe Vardon, NBA senior writer

Miami shows signs of life too late

There is a massive talent gap between these teams, and it wouldn’t seem rectifiable unless Cleveland goes cold shooting from deep. But that’s exactly what happened in the fourth quarter, as Miami found a way back in through Davion Mitchell’s relentlessness and aggressive rebounding, and Tyler Herro’s off-ball movement.

The Cavaliers used a massive, 43-point second quarter to stay ahead for most of the game, but the Heat, as they’re known to do, hung around with chippy defense and timely points late in the game.

It was stunning to see Miami come alive after the Heat offense looked unsure and disjointed most of the night, but Mitchell’s continued fourth-quarter dominance and Herro’s flow in the offense rewrote the script to this game. Nikola Jović provided some of the intangible plays Miami relies upon to win the margins and missed a wide-open 3 that would have made it a 2-point game in the final minute. Bam Adebayo finally found some control of the offense in crunch time and was a wall on defense.

Miami got within a single possession on several occasions, but Cleveland found an extra gear when it mattered and left for its trip to South Florida with a 2-0 series lead. There were a lot of signs of life from Miami late in this game, enough to make this a series.

The Heat have done a sound job of competing through two matchups — especially their Play-In Tournament run last week — but the Cavaliers’ offense, from Mitchell to Darius Garland to De’Andre Hunter and Sam Merrill, provided too many problems. Miami kept it close but couldn’t keep up. — Jared Weiss and James Jackson, NBA staff writers

Celtics 109, Magic 100

(Boston leads series 2-0)

Porziņģis, Brown step up for Celtics

With Jayson Tatum sidelined by a bone bruise in his right wrist, the Celtics’ offense suffered. They shot just 35.9 percent in the first half, including 23.5 percent (4-for-17) from behind the arc. Against Orlando’s second-ranked defense, Boston went just 2 for 8 from inside the paint during the first quarter, a gross mark on shots so close to the rim.

But the Celtics morphed to squeeze out enough points. They found Kristaps Porziņģis for more post-ups, and he responded by scoring 20 points and drawing 14 free-throw attempts. Jaylen Brown, who hadn’t played more than 30 minutes since mid-March because of an injured right knee, proved he was ready physically for a heavier burden. He scored 12 first-quarter points on his way to a stat line of 36 points, 10 rebounds and five assists.

Brown played 42 minutes, including all but the final 44.7 seconds of the second half, and still had enough energy left to sink three clutch shots late in the fourth quarter after the Magic threatened. His performance was extremely promising given the concerns about his knee.

Jaylen Brown leaving his mark on Game 2 💪

He’s got 33 PTS as the Celtics lead in the final minutes on TNT!#NBAPlayoffs presented by Google pic.twitter.com/H40wt9cA9J

— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2025

Tatum could return for Game 3. He is considered day to day, according to coach Joe Mazzulla. Regardless of whether he’s in the lineup, the Celtics’ depth gives them different ways to win. The Boston guards sank the Magic in Game 1, but Brown and Porziņģis did much of the scoring in Game 2 before Derrick White found his rhythm in the fourth quarter.

Boston will continue to need a lot from that trio if Tatum needs to miss more time. — Jay King, Celtics beat writer

Magic head home under pressure

Game 2 may be remembered as the Magic’s best opportunity to make this a competitive series.

With Tatum out — something Celtics fans will never forgive Kentavious Caldwell-Pope for — the Magic cut their deficit early in the third quarter to 50-49 and then temporarily collapsed through a combination of a missed defensive rebound, three consecutive missed 3s and great Celtics shot-making from long range.

Boston’s 11-0 run, keyed by a pair of 3s from Brown and an Al Horford offensive board that led to a 3 from White, was a decisive stretch.

The Magic have played six road playoff games during the Paolo Banchero-Franz Wagner era and have lost them all, four last spring in Cleveland (including a heartbreaking Game 7 defeat) and now twice in Boston.

Game 3 at Orlando’s Kia Center is a must-win for the Magic. They play better at home, but the experienced, playoff-tested Celtics performed better this season on the road.

Banchero, Wagner and their teammates, down 0-2 in the series, will have to conjure the same home (ahem) magic they showed last spring against the Cavs to have a chance to return to Boston for a Game 5.

Once again, the Magic couldn’t count on their outside shooting. They went 7 for 29 from 3-point range Wednesday, and Caldwell-Pope — their big signing of the 2024 offseason — went 1 for 9 from the field. Caldwell-Pope remained scoreless until 4:14 remained in the fourth quarter when he made the second of two free-throw attempts, cutting Orlando’s deficit to 96-89.

But the other problems came from their inability to defend without fouling and giving up too many second-chance points. The Celtics went 25 for 33 from the free-throw line and scored 20 second-chance points. — Josh Robbins, Magic beat writer

(Photo: David Richard / Imagn Images)

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