Celtics push Magic to brink of ouster

LOS ANGELES, United States — The defending champions Boston Celtics took a 3-1 lead in their Eastern Conference series against Orlando on Monday (Manila time) after a 107-98 win over the Magic.

Jayson Tatum scored 37 points and grabbed 14 rebounds, making all 14 of his free-throw attempts — including four in the final minute.

Tatum scored 16 points in the fourth quarter, when the Magic erased a nine-point deficit to tie it with less than five minutes to play.

Jaylen Brown scored 21 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for Boston and Kristaps Porzingis scored 19 — including a tip-in dunk off his own miss that put the Celtics ahead for good with 3:58 to play.

The Celtics host Game 5 on Tuesday (Wednesday Manila time).