Defending champion Celtics close out Magic 120-89 for 4-1 playoff series win

BOSTON (AP) — When Magic star Paolo Banchero went to the bench with five fouls, the Boston Celtics pulled away and cruised into the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Jayson Tatum had 35 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds, and the Celtics abandoned their usual 3-point barrage to beat Orlando 120-89 in Game 5 of their first-round playoff series on Tuesday night.

The defending NBA champions will play either the New York Knicks or Detroit Pistons in the second round. The Knicks lead their series 3-2 despite falling 106-103 earlier Tuesday in New York.

“You just have to find different ways,” said Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla, whose team set NBA records in the regular season for the most 3-point baskets but made none at all in the first half — a first in almost four years.

“That’s what this series called for. Every series calls for different things,” Mazzulla said. “You have to be able to win in different ways on both sides of the ball.”

Franz Wagner scored 25 points, Banchero had 19 and Wendell Carter Jr. had 12 points and 10 rebounds for the Magic, who have not won a playoff series since Dwight Howard, Vince Carter and coach Stan Van Gundy led them to the Eastern Conference finals in 2010.

Boston fell behind by nine in the first half, and Orlando still led 51-47 early in the third quarter when Banchero picked up his fourth foul; just 79 seconds later, he picked up his fifth, a call that sent an apoplectic coach Jamahl Mosley to the officials, demanding a review.

The replay showed Banchero stepped into Jaylen Brown as he shot, and the Magic forward went to the bench, where he stayed for the rest of the quarter. In that time, Boston scored 31 of the next 40 points to open an 83-62 lead.

“It definitely swung the series. It definitely swung the game,” Mosley said. “All I saw is Paolo getting an elbow to the face or back into the face — and he got the foul. That was a game-changer right there. Your best player picks up his fifth foul in the third quarter. It’s tough to come back from that moment.”

Brown scored 23 points for Boston.

Tatum, who injured his wrist on a hard foul in Game 1 and missed Game 2, returned with three straight games of at least 35 points. He was 11 for 11 from the free-throw line — he has not missed a foul shot since Game 1 — and 10 for 16 from the field, making four of five 3-point attempts.

The Celtics attempted only six 3-pointers in the first half and made none. It was the first time they went into halftime without a 3 since 2021.

Tatum made their first 3-pointer early in the third quarter, but it would be another seven minutes before he made their second. During the regular season, they made one, on average, every 2 minutes, 42 seconds.

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Orlando Magic players watch from the bench while trailing the Boston Celtics during the second half in game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) is fouled by Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner (22) on a drive to the basket during the second half in game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) drives to the basket against Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) during the first half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics center Kristaps Porzingis (8) drives to the basket against Orlando Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (3) during the first half in game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics guard Jaylen Brown (7) battles for a loose ball against Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the first half in game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Orlando Magic forward Franz Wagner, right, drives to the basket against Boston Celtics center Luke Kornet (40) during the first half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) drives to the basket against Orlando Magic center Wendell Carter Jr. (34) during the first half in Game 5 of a first-round NBA playoff basketball series, Tuesday, April 29, 2025, in Boston. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

ALEPPO, Syria (AP) — First responders on Sunday entered a contested neighborhood in Syria’ s northern city of Aleppo after days of deadly clashes between government forces and Kurdish-led forces. Syrian state media said the military was deployed in large numbers.

The clashes broke out Tuesday in the predominantly Kurdish neighborhoods of Sheikh Maqsoud, Achrafieh and Bani Zaid after the government and the Syrian Democratic Forces, the main Kurdish-led force in the country, failed to make progress on how to merge the SDF into the national army. Security forces captured Achrafieh and Bani Zaid.

The fighting between the two sides was the most intense since the fall of then-President Bashar Assad to insurgents in December 2024. At least 23 people were killed in five days of clashes and more than 140,000 were displaced amid shelling and drone strikes.

The U.S.-backed SDF, which have played a key role in combating the Islamic State group in large swaths of eastern Syria, are the largest force yet to be absorbed into Syria's national army. Some of the factions that make up the army, however, were previously Turkish-backed insurgent groups that have a long history of clashing with Kurdish forces.

The Kurdish fighters have now evacuated from the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood to northeastern Syria, which is under the control of the SDF. However, they said in a statement they will continue to fight now that the wounded and civilians have been evacuated, in what they called a “partial ceasefire.”

The neighborhood appeared calm Sunday. The United Nations said it was trying to dispatch more convoys to the neighborhoods with food, fuel, blankets and other urgent supplies.

Government security forces brought journalists to tour the devastated area, showing them the damaged Khalid al-Fajer Hospital and a military position belonging to the SDF’s security forces that government forces had targeted.

The SDF statement accused the government of targeting the hospital “dozens of times” before patients were evacuated. Damascus accused the Kurdish-led group of using the hospital and other civilian facilities as military positions.

On one street, Syrian Red Crescent first responders spoke to a resident surrounded by charred cars and badly damaged residential buildings.

Some residents told The Associated Press that SDF forces did not allow their cars through checkpoints to leave.

“We lived a night of horror. I still cannot believe that I am right here standing on my own two feet,” said Ahmad Shaikho. “So far the situation has been calm. There hasn’t been any gunfire.”

Syrian Civil Defense first responders have been disarming improvised mines that they say were left by the Kurdish forces as booby traps.

Residents who fled are not being allowed back into the neighborhood until all the mines are cleared. Some were reminded of the displacement during Syria’s long civil war.

“I want to go back to my home, I beg you,” said Hoda Alnasiri.

Associated Press journalist Kareem Chehayeb in Beirut contributed to this report.

Sandbag barriers used as fighting positions by Kurdish fighters, left inside a destroyed mosque in the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

People flee the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

A Syrian military police convoy enters the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)

Burned vehicles and ammunitions left at one of the Kurdish fighters positions at the Sheikh Maqsoud neighborhood, where clashes between government forces and Kurdish fighters have been taking place in the northern city of Aleppo, Syria, Sunday, Jan. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Ghaith Alsayed)