In a Friday afternoon matchup, Jayson Tatum and the Boston Celtics faced the Orlando Magic, resulting in a still-impressive 12-4 record for the Celtics in the 2023-24 NBA season. Despite the Celtics encountering a challenging road loss to the Magic, Tatum, playing without point guard Jrue Holiday and with Kristaps Porzingis exiting early due to injury, displayed remarkable efforts to lead the undermanned team on offense. However, Orlando secured a 113-96 victory, pulling away in the fourth quarter.

Post-game, Tatum praised the Magic, currently on a six-game winning streak and led by power forward Paolo Banchero. “They are a good team,” remarked Tatum, as reported by Fawzan Amer of The Sixth Man Show. “Well-coached… They’ve got some talented guys. They’ve got some guys that compete, and they play hard and they play together.”

Orlando convincingly lived up to Tatum’s compliments on Friday, marking a recurring challenge for the Celtics against the Magic. Last season, the Celtics faced similar struggles against Orlando, including dropping both games in a two-game home mini-series early in the 2022-23 season.

While Friday’s performance by the Celtics, hampered by injuries, may not be a major cause for concern, there is a desire for improved consistency from Jaylen Brown, who has faced challenges in the early part of the season.

The Celtics will face the Atlanta Hawks at home on November 26 in their upcoming game.