Jaylen Brown was hurting. A bone bruise and knee impingement had been messing with his game for a while, and by the time the regular season wrapped up, the dude just couldn’t push through anymore. He had to shut it down early, even got injections just to manage the pain. But once the playoffs rolled around, the reigning Finals MVP had to be back alongside his teammate Jayson Tatum.

In their Game 1 battle with the Orlando Magic, Boston took over in the second half and cruised to a 103-86 win. Brown’s role wasn’t about dropping 30. It was more like—do the little things, stay solid, and let the offense come to you. And that’s what he did. He put up 16 points on 6-of-14 from the field. Not crazy efficient, but enough. Add five rebounds, two assists, and two steals to the mix, and yeah—he showed up.

After the game, Tatum recognized how tough it is to go to battle without your full arsenal, especially when the stakes are high. Speaking on Brown’s effort, Tatum said, “I mean, it’s tough. It’s a challenge… that he’s taking on.” He made it clear the team sees what JB’s going through and respects it: “He knows that we need him out there, and we understand that he’s fighting through and trying to give it his all. And we appreciate that.”

Tatum added that the Celtics’ star’s rhythm is only going to improve with time: “I think, game after game, [he’ll] just get more comfortable out there. But, you know, he did his part tonight and contributed to us getting a win.”

Even banged up, Brown didn’t back down—he showed up, locked in, and proved he’s built for moments like this. But Brown wasn’t the only one gutting it out in Game 1. Tatum had his own scare in the fourth quarter that left Celtics fans holding their breath.

Early in the fourth quarter, with the Celtics up by 16, he took a hard hit from Kentavious Caldwell-Pope while attacking the rim. The fall? Ugly. He landed right on his shooting wrist and stayed down for a few seconds, clearly in pain.

Still, he toughened it out. Got up without help, stayed in the game, and even though he bricked both free throws after KCP’s tech, the man hit a cold-blooded three just a couple minutes later.

Postgame Tatum was asked how his wrist was feeling. “Uh, it’s all right. I just fell on, landed on it,” he said. When pressed on whether it might linger, he added: “Uh, no, I just landed on. It was throbbing for a second, um, kind of went away.” So yeah, nothing too alarming for now. He even went in for an X-ray just to be sure, and luckily, it came back “clean” and “good.”.

Joe Mazzulla backed it up, too. The Celtics head coach told reporters Tatum was good to go, and didn’t show any signs of concern. But the conversation around Tatum didn’t stop there. On NBA TV, Richard Jefferson chimed in with his take.

Richard Jefferson feels Jayson Tatum can have an off night sometimes and it doesn’t matter

Richard Jefferson kept it real while breaking down Tatum’s off night. He reminded folks that Boston doesn’t need their star dropping 30 every game. And if you watched that 103-86 blowout over Orlando, you saw that message in action. Even with Tatum struggling from the field—he shot just 8-of-22 and went 1-of-8 from deep—the Celtics cruised.

The guy still made an impact, though. He finished with 17 points, snagged 14 rebounds, and threw in a few assists. That wrist scare in the fourth? Yeah, it looked rough. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope caught him on a drive, and Tatum hit the floor hard. You could tell it stung. He toughened it out, but kept flexing that wrist after.

Jefferson, who knows what it takes to win it all, pointed out the luxury Boston has—depth. “For Jayson Tatum, he does so many things on the floor for his team,” Jefferson said. “Yes, his shot wasn’t falling… but when you’ve got talent like this, you don’t need to push it.”

He nailed it with this line: “If tonight is Derrick White’s night, if it’s Payton Pritchard’s night, then a leader allows those people to shine in those moments.”

That’s the beauty of this Celtics squad. They’re built for the long haul. If Tatum’s not at 100%, others are ready to carry the weight. And come playoff time, that kind of roster is a cheat code.