On Saturday I wrote that the Celtics’ fourth quarters are a problem Jayson Tatum keeps covering up. On Sunday in Orlando, Boston won the fourth quarter of a close game 31-23, beat the Magic 108-97 for its fifth straight win, and did most of that work with Tatum sitting next to Joe Mazzulla.
That is the version of this team I wanted to see. Paul George, Derrick White and the reserves kept the lead alive for the first 7:38 of the fourth, Tatum came back fresh with 4:22 left and made the two shots that mattered, and Neemias Queta was the center on the floor at the finish. It is the right blueprint for a team that wants Tatum’s legs in April.
How the fourth quarter actually went
Boston led 69-54 midway through the third quarter, then went cold. A 12-0 Orlando run made it 69-66, per ESPN’s play-by-play, and Boston took only a 77-74 lead into the fourth. Tatum had just made five of six free throws in the final 36 seconds of the third, and Mazzulla sat him to open the fourth anyway.
The group that started the quarter was Paul George, Derrick White, Payton Pritchard, Queta and Baylor Scheierman, with Luka Garza replacing Queta 12 seconds in. It started badly. Anthony Black stole the ball from George and finished a three-point play to tie the game at 79, and George lost it again 19 seconds later.
Then George, White and the reserves took over. Pritchard scored on a three-point play, George found Garza for a 3, Scheierman hit a floater and a 3, and George added a 3 and two free throws. With 5:02 left Boston led 97-85. Orlando answered with 3s from Desmond Bane and Tristan da Silva, and Mazzulla called timeout at 97-91 and sent Tatum, Queta and White back in.
Over the 7:38 Tatum sat in the fourth, Boston outscored Orlando 20-17. After he returned with 4:22 left, it was 11-6.
| Fourth quarter, Nov. 1 | Celtics | Magic |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 31 | 23 |
| Field goals | 11 of 16 | 7 of 24 |
| 3-pointers | 4 of 9 | 2 of 9 |
| Free throws | 5 of 5 | 7 of 7 |
The defensive line is the one I care about most. In the three close games I wrote about on Saturday, against Detroit, the Knicks and the Nets, opponents shot 34 of 63 in the fourth quarter. Orlando shot 7 of 24.
Tatum’s minutes were the point
Tatum still decided it. Orlando’s 8-0 run cut the lead to 97-93 with 3:59 left. Tatum answered with a 17-foot pull-up and a 12-footer, then found Queta for a layup and George for the 3 that made it 106-95 with 1:32 to go. He finished with 32 points on 8-of-19 shooting and made 15 of his 17 free throws.
What changed was how much he had to carry before that. He didn’t mind sitting. “No, I was all for it,” Tatum said, per The Boston Globe’s Gary Washburn. “I mean, those guys was rolling. We talk about all the time the depth of our team is 10, 12, 13 deep.”
George described his own job the same way. “So much is asked of JT and he’s done an amazing job to deliver,” he said, per the Globe. “When he can get his rest, I try to make sure that he’s not pressing over there.” George scored 10 of his 17 points in the fourth and had eight assists. That is the second-star role I argued for in why Paul George’s minutes need guarding, and on Sunday he played it while Tatum sat.
The free throws are new, too. Tatum attempted 14 free throws across the first three games of the season and 47 across the last three (22 against the Nets, 8 against the Bulls and 17 in Orlando), per ESPN’s box scores. A Tatum who keeps getting to the line needs fewer rescue jumpers late.
Queta closed, and it worked
Mitchell Robinson rested, per the AP, so Queta started and finished. On Saturday I argued that Queta should close over Robinson in tight games because opponents can foul Robinson on purpose. Robinson wasn’t available, so Mazzulla didn’t have to choose. Sunday still showed what that choice looks like.
Queta scored on Tatum’s pass with 2:17 left, blocked a Franz Wagner floater at 2:01 and blocked a Wagner layup at 1:27. He finished with eight points, eight rebounds and two blocks in 27 minutes, and both blocks came in the last 2:01. Wagner shot 5 of 20 for the game, per ESPN’s box score.
Orlando was short-handed. Paolo Banchero missed a fourth straight game with a high-ankle sprain, per the AP, and Jalen Suggs was also out, per the Globe. Boston still had to get stops against Wagner, Bane and Black at the end, and it did.
The bench is carrying its weight
Garza was the surprise for me. He had 12 points, six rebounds and four assists in 21 minutes, and two of those assists were on George baskets in the fourth. Scheierman scored 10 on 4-of-5 shooting. The AP noted Boston leads the NBA in bench scoring.
The shooting was bad. Boston made 12 of 44 from three, and Pritchard went 0 of 7. The Celtics won anyway because they forced 18 turnovers and scored 21 points off them, per ESPN. Magic coach Sean Sweeney gave Boston the credit. “They force turnovers. They are aggressive to go for steals,” he said, per the Magic’s Josh Cohen. That is a repeatable way to win on a night the 3s don’t fall. It also means Boston can survive an off shooting night from Pritchard, whose bargain contract makes him a big part of the plan.
The fourth-quarter math, updated
Through six games, Boston has outscored opponents 538-460 over the first three quarters and been outscored 188-166 in fourth quarters, per ESPN’s box scores. Sunday cut the fourth-quarter deficit from 30 to 22. Sunday showed what the fix looks like: George, White and the reserves hold a lead with Tatum resting, and he comes back fresh for the last few minutes.
Boston plays in Houston on Monday night, the second half of a back-to-back. If Mazzulla trusts the same group to open the fourth there, I’ll take that as a sign Sunday was a plan and not a hot stretch from the bench.