'Guess I Did Something Right,' Kentavious Caldwell-Pope Reacts to Rowdy Celtics Fans

The 41-41 Orlando Magic are currently trailing the 61-21 Boston Celtics in their first round playoff matchup, 0-2, as the best-of-seven series heads to the Kia Center for Game 3 on Friday.

As Ian Steele of ABC6 Providence captured, fans had it out for Orlando swingman Kentavious Caldwell-Pope even before Game 2 tipped off.

Few boos for Kentavious Caldwell Pope

Cameo from @MHershgordon @abc6 #differenthere #nbaplayoffs pic.twitter.com/oaEdHpSfP3
— Ian Steele (@RealianSteele6) April 23, 2025

Caldwell-Pope was responsible for the hard foul that yielded a hard foul and subsequent right distal radius bone bruise for six-time All-Star power forward Jayson Tatum. Tatum sat out Game 2, and is currently considered doubtful to appear in Game 3.

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When asked by Jason Beede of The Orlando Sentinel about the TD Garden crowd's response to his presence, Caldwell-Pope seemed to appreciate the competitive nature of the Boston faithful.

I asked #Magic’s Kentavious Caldwell-Pope his thoughts on the reaction from the Boston crowd in Game 2:

“Getting a little boos, I must be doing something right. It was fun, a little bit more energy for me. I wish I had knocked down some shots, would’ve been a lot better.”

More: pic.twitter.com/G5dUBd88qB
— Jason Beede (@therealBeede) April 25, 2025

"I’ve had that before. Getting a little boos, I must be doing something right," Caldwell-Pope said. "It was fun, a little bit more energy for me. I wish I had knocked down some shots, would’ve been a lot better. But I try to do everything possible to get the win for my team. If I'm not making shots, I do defend at a high level and that's what all the focus was on.”

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Caldwell-Pope hasn't been lighting the world on fire during the series. The 31-year-old is averaging a scant 4.5 points while slashing .214/.200/.500, 4.0 rebounds, 1.5 steals and 1.0 assists a night.

Last summer, Caldwell-Pope departed the Denver Nuggets to sign a three-year, $66 million deal with the Magic. He averaged a fairly modest 8.7 points on .439/.342/.863 shooting splits, 2.2 rebounds, 1.8 assists and 1.3 steals in his 77 healthy regular season contests.

That scoring mark represented his worst such output in that department since his 2013-14 rookie season with the Detroit Pistons.

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The Magic could certainly use more help from all of their players, not named Paolo Banchero or Franz Wagner if they're hoping to mount a comeback from this formidable deficit, something only 34 teams have previously accomplished in league history.

How the Orlando faithful will receive Boston's finest remains to be seen, although it's certainly tough for rival home crowds to match the passion of Celtics fans.

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