
Boston Celtics shock Orlando Magic with undermanned roster and a jaw-dropping performance from unexpected heroes. With Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White, and Payton Pritchard among eight guys out, the Celtics leaned on former two-way players and newcomers—highlighted by Baylor Scheierman’s electrifying 30 points and Ron Harper Jr.’s all-around game—to topple a playoff-hungry Orlando team in front of a roaring TD Garden crowd. John Karalis of Celtics On SI breaks down how Joe Mazzulla’s unwavering expectations and tactical discipline guided this improbable win, from Luka Garza’s clutch three-pointer to the relentless energy of the Celtics’ bench. Key topics include Orlando Magic’s stunning collapse, the Celtics’ depth stepping up when needed most, and what this victory means for Boston’s playoff momentum. Can the Celtics carry this no-nonsense mentality into the postseason, and could their role players make a real difference on the NBA’s biggest stage?
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John Corrales
Foreign podcast Network your team every day. This message is brought to you by Apple Card Apple Card members can earn unlimited daily cash back on everyday purchases wherever they shop. This means you could be earning daily cash on just about anything, like a slice of pizza from your local pizza place or a latte from the corner coffee shop. Apply for Apple Card in the Wallet app to see your credit limit offer in minutes subject to credit approval. Apple Card issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA Salt Lake City branch terms and more@applecard.com you're juggling a lot, but you
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John Corrales
in one of the most improbable seasons in Celtics history, that win was the most improbable win with an improbable hero locked on Celtics pot. Home of the winners, baby. Hey there. Welcome back to the show. I'm John Corrales. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. Right now new customers can bet just $5 and get $200 and $250 in bonus bets. If your first bet wins, head to FanDuel.com to get started. We are talking about a game I didn't think we'd be talking much about in this one. The Celtics beats the Orlando Magic. The Celtics beat the Orlando Magic with eight players available, four of them former two way players. A fifth one who was just on a 10 day contract, Delano Banton. They just signed. He doesn't even have a name over his locker yet and so those five guys plus Luca Garza, Baylor Shireman and Jordan Walsh, that was the group up against an Orlando Magic team that was trying to win, that needed to win to to get home court in their 78 play in game with the Philadelphia 76ers and the Celtics. What was left of the Celtics with all of those guys out went out there and won. Later on we'll get to Baylor Sharman and Ron Harper Jr. I'm gonna their games which were 30 points for Baylor Charman and 27 for Ron Harper Jr. That's like the last thing I'm gonna talk about. I'll get to Luca Garza's three pointer and dive into that a little bit. But I, I, that's going to be like the second segment because I have to start with just how improbable this game was. This is very much the inconceivable kind of princess bride. But I am using that word. I do know what it means. It means what I think it means. This Celtics team should not have won this game. It shouldn't have been close, but I'll let you in on a little bit. I was sitting there at dinner, I won't use names, but I was sitting at dinner, couple of Orlando guys, a Celtics guy and the Celtics guy says, you know, something weird is going to happen tonight. Something, it's not going to just be chalk. And me and the two Orlando guys were like, could be this game. He's like, nah. And we're like, yeah, no, this could be the game where something weird happens because the Orlando Magic have just been that disappointing, that embarrassing. But the, you, you, you still had to expect that through everything. Orlando would still come in here with a real thing to worry about, which is home court advantage in this one game. It's not a do or die game because if you lose that game, you still have to play the 8:19 or the, the 910 game winner to you. You still have a chance to keep your, your season alive, but you still want to win. You want to win this game and get some rest and prepare, right? Orlando, the plan should have been come in here, destroy the, this version of the Celtics, go up by 30 and cruise, get some rest ahead of their Wednesday game against Philly and try to win that game at home. Go home after this game, rest and try to win that. No, no, the, the Magic came in and I don't know what was going on. They, they played Desmond Bain six minutes in the first quarter and he didn't play in the second quarter. He didn't play in the. Well, he, he did get in in the third, right? No, he didn't get in in the third. He can't, he got in in the fourth. So they were trying to get him some rest. And because the Celtics just went on this incredible run in the third quarter, they outscored Orlando 42 to 20 in the third quarter. How bad is it for Orlando to give up 42 points to chairman Walsh Garza, Shilga Harper Jr. That's your starting lineup. I'm just going to look at this third quarter here where the Celtics got 14 in the quarter from Sheireman, they got 10 from Ron Harper Jr. You got five minutes out of John Tanji. He was a plus 13. You got six. Almost seven minutes out of Delano Banton. He had a couple of assists. He was a plus 17. Baylor, Sherman and Ron Harper Jr combined to outscore the entire Orlando Magic. A play off team. Well, a play in team. A team that came into this season with such expectations to be a top four seed to get home court. I mean, God, the more I look at this, I, I, I cannot believe what happened. But let me tell you something. The Boston Celtics were not buying this feeling that you're feeling. This feeling that I'm feeling about how the Celtics were improbable winners here, that they never should have had a chance. And this just goes for the entire season. They're not buying that. I sat here. Normally I'd go out and look for a fun little backdrop. I go out to the concourse. No, I wanted to record this podcast as fast as I could. And so I'm in one of the side rooms that. I think ESPN used this as a green room here. Just sitting here behind in front of cinder blocks. Because I'm like, no, I want to get this podcast out as soon as possible. Background. Forget it. Who cares about the background? We're talking about this game. I'm so excited to, to talk about this game. These guys never should have had a chance in. The Celtics are like, no, yeah, this was Joe Missoula. It's like, no, we, we put these guys out there. We expect them to execute. We expect them to do the things we're. You're supposed to do. Don't buy into this. You know, oh, you're this person. So we don't expect this of you. It doesn't matter who you are a Boston Celtic. You're putting on the uniform. You're going out there at TD Garden in front of 19,000 people underneath those banners. This is your expectation. Live up to it. That's Joe Missoula's approach. And these guys, man, they all buy in. I couldn't get any of them to crack. I couldn't get any of them to be like, oh, yeah, man, this is, this was so cool. I asked Ron Harper directly about this. I, my, my question was, basically, we're all sitting here going, oh, my God, you guys aren't. Not only are not going, oh, my God, you're not even buying into the. Yeah, we were happy to prove people wrong. There was not, there was not even that little hint of, yeah, we, we, we knew what people thought. We had confidence in ourselves. And we really wanted to prove people wrong. It wasn't even that. They're not even doing that. They're just like, no, we don't think about that. We just think about executing. We got to come out here and just play, play our games. And this is Joe Missoula. If this didn't clinch him coach of the year, this is every voter. If you, if you are still working on your ballot, you look at this, you go, how, how do they keep doing it? How do the Celtics keep doing it? And yeah, Orlando, you know, messed around and they found out in this game and as this game was going on, it was. Orlando just couldn't pull away. They had, they had the biggest lead was 11. They couldn't pull away. They couldn't go up 20, they couldn't go up 15. The Celtics had a 16 point lead at one point. They had the biggest lead of the game. But the Celtics just, they, they straight down the middle. We're on the floor. This is what we expect. Baylor, Shireman, I'll let you in a little behind the scenes. He's walking from the locker room to the, the, the interview room. He got the podium. So as he's walking, I said, I just turned to him and made like a little, just innocent little gem like, ah, man, you got the, you got the podium game today. And he didn't, didn't break. He didn't snicker. He didn't go, huh? He didn't, he just said, yeah, whatever that means. Like, buddy, like you don't even give the. You had 30, you had 30 points. Six of 14 from three, eight of eight from the line. You had seven rebounds, seven assists. That's officially flirting with the triple double territory. It. Two steals a block. That was an amazing game. You got the podium. You don't even get to be like, ah, yeah, man, what, what a night. You didn't. Not even a humoring thing. No. He's like, whatever that means. Doesn't care. These guys don't care. This is Joe Mazula. Nobody cares. Joe Missoula has these guys so focused and the coaching staff has them so focused from top to bottom. This team is like dead set, right on the money, right on message, right on point. If you're out there on the floor, we expect you to perform a certain way. And it doesn't matter what John Corrales thinks. Who cares about him? Doesn't matter what that person up in section 315 thinks. Who cares about him? Well, they care about the fans, but it doesn't matter. What any member of the media has and they don't care. They don't care. It's just John Tanji. You're on the floor. You. This is what we expect. Delano Banton, we just signed you name. Not even on the locker. Don't care. You get out there, this is what you expect. That's it. Joe has the expectations. The staff has the expectations. This is the plan. This is what we're doing. This is how we execute it. These guys stuck to the plan. They went out there, they executed. Create the good shots, make the right reads, get the two on ones, spray it. When you have a good shot, shoot it. If you don't drive it or pass it, just keep doing it over and over and over again. And if Orlando wants to mess around, then they could find out and they did. It's unbelievable. We'll come back. I'll. We got to get into the game. The individual players here. We'll do that when I come back. Today's show is brought to you by Game Time. Can we talk about this crowd and how amazing they were? When I talk about expectations and all of that stuff, when the fans come in here and don't have any expectations and things go the way they did, the energy in this building was off the charts. You should have been in here. And if you use the Game Time app, you could have been in here. And actually for pretty cheap too because so many guys were out. Game Time's going to be the go to app for scoring tickets fast. Pull up the Game Time app. Pick an upcoming. You want to go to a playoff game. You got tickets locked in within minutes. The all in prices are up front there so you can see them before you buy. Whatever you see the price. If it's a hundred dollar ticket, you're gonna pay a hundred dollars. That's what you pay. No surprise fees. You get the view from your seat so you can look at. Okay, I'm good with where this view is. I'm gonna buy this ticket or I like the view from this section. I'm gonna do a zone deal. They pick, they pick the tickets. I'll just tell them what section. You save a couple bucks that way too. Take the guesswork out of buying NBA tickets with Game Time. Download the Game Time app. Create an account. Use the code locked on for $20 off your first purchase. That's locked on. L O C K E D locked on for $20 off. Download the Game Time app today. And remember, if you're using the web, it's gametime CO Gametime co this is Jake from Lock Dawn. When the game's on the line, the best know when to pass, because the right assist can change everything. And off the court, it's no different. That's where your State Farm agent comes in. Well, whether it's protecting your car, your home, or helping you prep for the unexpected, they'll help set you up with a game plan that works for you. Like a good neighbor, State Farm is there. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability and eligibility vary by state. Thank you for making Lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. I'm here for you Monday through Friday, plus bonus podcasts when they play on weekends. And there'll be a lot of weekend playoff games. So bonus podcasts there bonus podcasts throughout the week. You'll never know when one is going to be dropping. I dropped a lot. I think I did 10 podcasts last week. I won't be doing 10 podcasts this week, but there will be bonus podcasts. There will be bonus content throughout the week, so make sure you're subscribed. Get the show wherever you use on whatever app you use. Watch the show on YouTube. Join me I'm John Corrales, beat writer covering the Celtics for Celtics on SI. I've been covering the Celtics for 20 years now. I've been doing this podcast for 10. The atmosphere just talked about it in talking about the the Game Time app. But this was a crowd that I, when I say it was loud and it was playoff loud, I have not heard it any louder than it was in this game. Because when you're, when you're watching a game like this, you just walk in, you say, hey, I know. No Tatum, no Brown, Pritchard Hauser, Hugo Gonzalez was out. Who else was I. I've lost track. Derrick White was out. It was Vuch didn't play. Keda didn't play. They literally had eight guys available. So you're a fan. You walk in here and you're like, ah, this. Yeah, we're gonna, we're just gonna, we're here with the kid Sunday early. Early enough to bring a kid and get home, go to bed. We're just gonna go have some fun. We're gonna eat some, you know, expensive, crappy food. We're gonna enjoy a little bit of basketball game. Maybe they'll give us something to cheer about. So when you're in that situation and all of a sudden that third quarter happens, people just explode. It was so loud in this building. And for Luca Garza's three pointer, that Was such an incredible moment for him because first of all, it was such a perfect situation for situational basketball. And Joe Mazzulla talked about this after the game. You never get a situation like this where it's perfect. They had, they had the ball with 36 seconds to go. And in, in a tie game. And it's very obvious, okay, here we go. This is a perfect 2 for 1 situation. Let's try to score within 4, 5, 6 seconds. Orlando will get the ball, they'll drop a play, you get a stop or if they hit the shot, you give yourself another chance to score, tie, win, whatever. So you knew the Celtics were going to shoot quickly. Garza, I don't know where this has been an amazing. He finishes the season shooting over 43% from three. Incredible. He goes, he turns right in Wendell Carter Jr's face like Wendell Carter Jr. Was when I say in his face. Had both hands on his body was right there. Garza went straight up and down and it's still. He. I'm surprised he didn't land on, on Carter's feet. So he rises up and hits this shot and oh my God, the whole place was shaking. Garza's losing his mind. The bench is losing his mind. He k goes out and gives him a push. Ugo's in that, everybody. What an incredible moment. And Garza afterwards was like, yeah, that's one of the highlights of my life basically, to get Garza in that moment. And he hit for 27 points. 27 points, 12 rebounds, a steal. 10 of 18 overall, 3 of 6 from 3. I wish I could have bet. I wish I could open up the FanDuel app and bet on. At some point in the season, Luca Garza will hit a game winning shot. If you. There's no way. The odds on that would have been astronomical to start the season. I can't believe that that's actually something that happened. But. And I think that he had. Might have been Banton rolling because he rolled Banta. I saw a whole like arm like, I'm open, come give me the ball. Pass me the ball. Garza like, nope, I'm shooting this. And he drills it. Just execution, man. He knew, he's like, listen, I know. I knew we were going two for one. I had to do something, right? I had to shoot the ball. If he missed, then Orlando could have come down. Didn't matter what Orlando did. They could have come down, you know, hit a shot, missed, whatever. The Celtics had an opportunity to come and hit, you know, draw something else up so that's the type of thing like when I was saying before where, where Joe can look at his guys and say, this is, this is what we expect of you. We're going to be able to draw something up, and you, we expect you to execute the play. Orlando has to be embarrassed by all of this. They really do have to be embarrassed by this. Because I, I, I have to apologize, like, for ever suggesting that the Orlando Magic would be a tough playoff opponent. I can't imagine there's nothing the Orlando Magic can do between now and next week. If the Celtics do end up playing Orlando, which I hope not. I hope not because I don't want to actually go to Orlando. I'd rather go to Philadelphia. The. But from a tactical standpoint, from a basketball standpoint, those guys are a mess. Oh, my God, they are, they are much bigger mess than I anticipated. That's, that's on me. I, I thought that maybe somewhere along the way playoffs would kick in and they'd say, you know what? We're not going out like this. Mosley's gonna get fired. We know he's gonna get fired. It'd be a very kind of Tom Thibodeau type situation where you go into the playoffs, like, all right, this guy's gonna get fired. And you make an improbable run, and it doesn't matter. He still got fired. Mosley's gonna get fired no matter what the Magic do. So I was thinking like, hey, maybe, maybe they'll, they'll put it together. They've got, they've got the talent there. This lineup, even with Wagner on a minutes restriction. Wagner, Ban caro, Wendell Carter Jr. And Desmond Bain. Jalen Suggs. That's a good starting lineup. It's supposed to be anyway. It's supposed to be. Anthony Black is good. They've got good players here. What's going on? They're just a mess. But you know what? Give me Philadelphia. Give me Philadelphia. Because Celtics at Philadelphia in the playoffs might be my absolute favorite environment to be in. And no disrespect, I'm not saying this to disrespect any game here at TD Garden because it's obviously an incredible environment as well. But I love how much hate there is in Philadelphia. I love how much they hate the Boston Celtics. It's so palpable. The air is so thick, thick with Sixers, hate for Boston. That being in there and being in a playoff series and beating the Sixers is so, it's so enjoyable. It really, really is. It's such an incredible atmosphere that just the former player in me that just loves to shut up an opposing crowd. That's so much fun. I love it. I love it. So I love TD Garden fans here are great. This environment was amazing. But give me Celtics at Philly for a playoff series. That's just the two games. Just those two games in in Philadelphia. Just Chef's kiss. Love it. All right. Gone all this way. I haven't talked about the two stars of the game, talked about one of the stars of the game. But really Shireman and Harper. I'll talk about them when I come back. Today's show is brought to you by FanDuel. The playoffs are right around the corner here. Every possession matters, every matchup is magnified and every game can swing a series. Right now, FanDuel is giving you a new customer, a great way to get in on the action. You can bet $5 and get 250 in bonus bets if your first bet wins. The app makes it easy to follow the action with player stats, trends and matchups all in one place. And during the playoffs. That extra insight really matters when you're looking at stars, role players and key moments just makes the whole thing, the whole experience more engaging from start to finish. The Celtics are third. They are third. They're plus 500 on FanDuel right now in NBA Finals Champions Odds. The number one odds wise matchup in is Celtics and Thunder. So there's a lot of action there for the Celtics getting all the way to the NBA Finals. Head on over to FanDuel.com to get started. When you do, they'll ask you to set a limit, set a budget. Please do that so you can gamble responsibly. FanDuel play your game. Today's show also brought to you by TurboTax. It is tax time and for a lot of us, the old way of doing taxes, it's. It's a lot. Trying to book an appointment that's not the most convenient. Sitting in a waiting room with a stack of papers, emailing back and forth and wondering if they really get your situation. But this year you're getting a major upgrade. Intuit TurboTax now has in person locations nationwide. You can meet face to face with a real tax expert and your documents get uploaded straight to your TurboTax app on the spot. Just like that, you're done. Your TurboTax expert works to get you every dollar you deserve while you get real time notifications as you go on about your day. It's the relief of walking in and meeting A real person and and walking out knowing your taxes are being handled right. Head to turbotax.com local to find a store near you and book your appointments. Thank you for making lockdown Celtics your first listen every day. You're here with me every Monday through Friday. You're an everydayer. Why not join the everydayer club? You get ad free locked on Celtics episodes and members only Discord access at lockdownceltics. Supercast Locked on Celtics.Supercast.com it's just five bucks a month or 50 bucks for the year to sign up and get the ad free audio and get to the members only Discord access locked on celtics.supercast.com so if I'm being 100 honest here, I wasn't expecting to talk about this game. I wasn't expecting to still be talking about this game. I, I thought coming in. All right, we'll do a segment on. Oh, you know, it was fun to watch. You know, Delano Banthen come in and Amari Williams and you know, get a little bit and yeah, you come in and they hit a few shots and Orlando did this, this and that. Orlando won by 20 and we move on like that. I thought was going to be the whole first segment and then the second and third segments were going to be appreciating the season and so on. I'll just push that to tomorrow. We're going to look back on the season because I'm still in the third segment. I haven't talked about Baylor Shireman going off for 30 points on 6 of 14 shooting from three. Let third quarter. He was hitting some just bull out there. He was hitting shots. I just couldn't believe it. He was four of six from three in that quarter. Just everything. He could have kicked the ball. He could have bicycle kicked it and it would have gone in the way he was shooting. The Celtics put up 42 points in the third quarter. Orlando supposed to be the defensive team. That's supposed to be their hallmark. And they put up 42 points and Orlando can't shoot. Man, they are struggling. They cannot hit anything. The Celtics were 19 of 50 from three. They took 50 three pointers. The Magic took 43 and only hit 12. They shot 28% from three. Just incredible. I can't, I still can't believe this, but they turn the ball over 19 times for 23 points. How do you turn the ball over 19 times against this Celtics lineup? I mean, I keep, I keep reverting back to the. Orlando should be embarrassed. Baylor was, was playing just out of his mind shooting out of his mind. Ron Harper Jr. 27 points, 10 of 20 from overall 5 of 12 from 3, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals. The unfortunate thing for him is that he got cramps and had to sit out the last few minutes of the game and but he played 37 minutes almost. He's not used to playing 37 minutes. Not like that. And they. He's been incredible. Ron. He is just straight up, he's an NBA player. That dude gets it. He's, he's confident. Both Baylor and Ron, we talked about this with Tom last week. Those two guys are confident basketball players. Sometimes too confident. In Baylor's case, he took a couple of shots that you say okay, this is, you're feeling it but you got to still play under control. And Joe mentioned that after the game. But he also said Baylor, Baylor knew, okay, that's not the shot that we need. I gotta play more disciplined basketball. That's, that is progress for, for Baylor. Shireman who remember he's in his second year. We again the Celtics throughout their. Shireman who was drafted at the end of the first round. Jordan Walsh, second round pick. Luca Garza, undrafted. Right. Max Shulga, end of the second round. Ron Harper Jr. Second round pick. Andre I forget Delano Banton, Amari Williams, second round pick. All of these guys, the guys who played Baylor and, and Baylor was a first round pick and that. Where was Jordan Walsh drafted? Was Jordan Walsh a first round pick? That's, that's the, the part that I thought he was a second round pick but I'm gonna get there in a second here. I, my memory is so bad that he was second round. Yeah. Eighth pick in the second round. So Baylor was in the first round. Is that it? Was he the only first round pick that played in this game? That's nuts because Ugo didn't play. Yeah. Wow. What a, what a, what a day. What a day. Ron Harper is a, is a legit basketball like that. That guy is gonna help this team. Brad, Brad Stevens just keeps finding these hits, man. I don't even know if he meant to do it or just is having the luckiest year of front office guys ever had. Because remember like Harper got hurt, he got cut, he got, he's bounced around. Now he's back and now he's getting the opportunity. And this goes to what, what Tom and I were saying the other day. These, you give these guys a chance in the right situation, the right setting, right coaching, right teammates and a lot of these guys have the ability to really just Take off. So I'm super impressed. This, this really is the most impressive win of the season to me because the, the guys that they threw out there are, you know, no disrespect because they all work hard, but we know, we know who they are. Talent wise. This, this Orlando team should have beaten them by 30. They should have won by 30. Should have been easy. But the work ethic from these guys, the preparation from the entire coaching staff, the mentality from Joe Missoula, you know, the, the quality player from Brad Stevens, the guys that he brings in, he knows they are quality human beings. Huge emphasis for them with that. And whenever a guy like Luca Garza gets in there and has an opportunity, he makes the most of it. And look at the. Just, I don't know these guys. Every time, every time I have any sort of doubts or question or anything like that, these guys blow it out of the water. So great win. 56 wins this season. 56 wins for this team. What a charmed season. Well, this podcast is over. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. I sometimes I just like basking in the. Not knowing what the hell to say because it just, I think all of us are feeling the same thing. How did they do this? It's incredible. Thank you for listening. Thank you for watching. Thank you for coming by to say hi. The schedule hopefully will be released soon, so we'll talk about that. We'll just reflect on the season. It's going to be a good couple days to reflect on what we've seen before we figure out who the Celtics are playing and start turning our focus to what we hope is a deep playoff run. I will be here for all of it with podcasts five days a week. Bonus podcasts when we play on weekends, on a Friday or a Saturday. Bonus podcast throughout the week as content warrants it. So make sure you're subscribed wherever you get your podcast. Watch the show on YouTube and then share the podcast. Tell everybody they should be listening to and watching the Lockdown Celtics podcast. Here on the Lockdown Podcast Network is your team every day. Calling all fun lovers and memory makers, Texas invites you to cheer from our stadiums and dance like no one is watching. Culture seekers can find the art that truly inspires. And from our shopping hubs to our chic boutiques, fashionistas will never leave empty handed. Texas is an unforgettable experience that's waiting just for you. Visit traveltexas.com and plan your trip today.
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John Corrales
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Host: John Karalis
Date: April 13, 2026
In one of the most improbable moments of an already improbable season, John Karalis breaks down the Boston Celtics’ shocking victory over the Orlando Magic. With a skeleton crew of eight available players—many of whom are recent call-ups, two-ways, or on 10-day contracts—the Celtics overcame all odds, knocking off an Orlando team that needed a win to secure home court advantage in the playoffs. Karalis analyzes how this happened, celebrates breakout games from Baylor Scheierman and Ron Harper Jr., dives into Luka Garza’s game-winning three, and reflects on the team’s relentless mentality under Joe Mazzulla.
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On the odds of this win:
“This is very much the inconceivable kind of Princess Bride. But I am using that word. I do know what it means. It means what I think it means. This Celtics team should not have won this game.” (John Karalis, 2:35)
On the young players executing:
“It doesn't matter who you are—a Boston Celtic, you’re putting on the uniform, you’re going out there at TD Garden in front of 19,000 people underneath those banners. This is your expectation. Live up to it.” (John Karalis, 7:40)
On Baylor Scheierman’s reaction postgame:
“He didn’t snicker. He didn’t go, huh? He just said, ‘Yeah, whatever that means.’ Like, buddy, you don’t even give the—you had 30… That was an amazing game. You got the podium. He doesn’t care!” (John Karalis, 12:40)
On Orlando’s embarrassment:
“Orlando has to be embarrassed by all of this. They really do have to be embarrassed by this. Because I have to apologize for ever suggesting that the Orlando Magic would be a tough playoff opponent.” (John Karalis, 22:50)
On Boston’s resolve:
“This really is the most impressive win of the season to me because… This Orlando team should have beaten them by 30. They should have won by 30... But the work ethic from these guys, the preparation from the coaching staff, the mentality from Joe Missoula…” (John Karalis, 33:33)
John Karalis is energetic, incredulous, and celebratory throughout:
This episode is a joyous, awe-struck celebration of the Celtics' never-say-die culture, a testament to Joe Mazzulla’s coaching and the front office’s knack for unearthing hidden talent. It’s also a searing commentary on the Magic’s failure in a must-win scenario. For Celtics fans—especially those who missed the game—Karalis’ retelling captures the electricity, improbability, and collective disbelief at what "the last men standing" achieved on this remarkable night at TD Garden.