Jayson Tatum of the Celtics gives a strong response to the criticism

BOSTON — Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum is used to people taking shots at him. So when he was asked about the Toronto Raptors mocking him on social media (and to his face), he wasn’t concerned.

On Wednesday night, the rebuilding Raptors pulled off an impressive upset and stunned the C’s in Canada, 110-97. Tatum finished with an incredible 16 points in 36 minutes, and the Raptors franchise cornerstone Scottie Barnes even antagonized the current champion by clapping in front of him in defense.

The green team trailed for most of the contest and never built enough momentum to come back. The Raps, who had previously lost their last ten games against the Celtics, took to social media to celebrate their shock victory. They include a picture of the former Milwaukee Bucks shooting guard Brandon Jennings below the final frame score in a post on X, referencing how Jennings recently called Tatum “softest Celtics superstar” in history.

Tatum made a big comeback on Friday night, dropping 30 points and shooting over 57 percent from the field en route to a 121-94 victory over the Orlando Magic. After the magical explosion, the five-time All-Star had his first opportunity to discuss the Raptors’ taunts with the media. However, Tatum played cool when questioned about Barnes’ actions and Jennings’ hit.

“I don’t know, I guess I’m a big deal,” Tatum said before stepping down from the press podium.

How did Jayson Tatum and the Celtics dominate the Magic?

The Boston native had a high plus-minus rating of plus-24 against the Magic, who the Celtics previously lost to in December when Tatum was sidelined with an illness. His presence was felt during the rematch, as the St. Louis native went all out and tallied six rebounds, four assists, two steals, one block and just one turnover. Tatum also had the best 3-point shooting performance in 2025 thanks to four 3-pointers on nine attempts.

“Yeah, it was definitely good to hit some shots,” Tatum said when asked if he was relieved to see some threes connect after some rough outings from beyond the arc. “But I liked how physical we were from the beginning.” The starters didn’t necessarily start the game as well as we would have liked recently, but I think tonight we matched (the Magic’s) intensity from the get-go.”

The Magic boast the second-best defensive rating in the NBA, but the Celtics toyed with them on Friday. Boston shot 52.5 percent from the floor and 45.9 percent from 3-point range, while dishing out 25 assists to Orlando’s 15. When the Celtics have more assists than their opponent, they are 21-1 on the season.

The season series between the Celtics and the Magic it’s now 1-1, and the rubber match won’t come until April 9 in Florida. Currently, the C’s are 29-12 and in second place in the Eastern Conference. After the loss to Boston, Orlando dropped to sixth place in the East and 23-20 overall.

Midway through a wildly successful 2023-24 season, Tatum and company were 32-9. They are three wins shy of that incredible record a year later, but are still in the mix for another title. Although regular season it wasn’t so nice this time, the Celtics have shown some resilience, explaining why they are 11-1 in postseason games.

Regardless of how Boston fares in the second half of the 2024-25 campaign, Tatum is sure to face more criticism, whether from the media, former players or even active players. But he will deal with it as usual and let his play speak for itself.