ORLANDO >> Joe Mazzulla saluted Celtics stars Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and Kristaps Porzingis for their vital contributions in Sunday’s Game 4 win over the Magic.

The head coach’s highest compliment, however, was reserved for 38-year-old Al Horford.

“There should be a separate stat sheet for guys like him because of the type of stuff that he does,” Mazzulla said after the Celtics won 107-98 at the Kia Center to take a 3-1 lead in their first-round NBA playoff series. “… (He’s) just an unbelievable competitor. Made all the plays necessary to help us win.”

Making his second consecutive start in place of injured guard Jrue Holiday, Horford scored just six points in the hard-fought victory but blocked five Orlando shots, his most in a game since January 2024. Two of those came in the fourth quarter as the Celtics turned a 91-91 tie with four minutes remaining into a nine-point win.

With 1:33 to play and the Celtics leading 101-94, Horford tracked Paolo Banchero and denied the Orlando star at the rim. After the Celtics were called for an eight-second violation on the ensuing possession, Horford’s scrappiness under the basket helped foil another Magic scoring chance, as he tied up Gary Harris and Wendell Carter Jr. to force a turnover.

Both of those plays came after the oldest member of Boston’s roster swooped in as a help defender to blast a shot from Cory Joseph into the stands.

Horford’s block party placed him in exclusive company. Since the NBA began tracking blocked shots in 1973, the only players age 38 or older to record five or more in a playoff game are Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (three times) and now Horford.

“I can’t say it enough: Al is unbelievable,” said Tatum. “Big moments, the game is tied, four minutes left and just making plays the entire night on both ends of the floor. 38 years old, he’s picking up full court, doing whatever is asked of him, and that just kind of sets the tone for everybody else. He’s got the heart of a champion.”

Horford also came up with a timely offensive rebound midway through the fourth quarter, feeding Derrick White for a layup after a missed Tatum 3-pointer. Beyond his box-score stats, he served as Boston’s de facto enforcer, as well, racing in to confront Carter after the Magic center floored a driving White with a hip check.

Universally beloved inside the Celtics’ locker room, Horford has a habit of elevating his play in Boston’s biggest games. Some of the best performances of his 18th NBA regular season came in matchups against former MVPs Giannis Antetokounmpo, Nikola Jokic and LeBron James.

On Sunday, Horford helped the Celtics avoid a second straight loss to a bulldog Magic team that’s challenged the defending champs in all four games in this series.

“Tremendous, tremendous effort from Al down the stretch in that second half,” Brown said. “Big-time rebounds, some big-time plays. That block was huge. He just did what it took to win, and we don’t expect nothing less. That’s just Al Horford in a nutshell.”

Scheierman’s celly

Though he has yet to see the floor in his first NBA postseason, Baylor Scheierman has made one visible contribution to the Celtics’ first-round playoff series.

Tatum revealed after Sunday’s win that Scheierman, the lone rookie on Boston’s roster, was the one who dreamed up his new 3-point celebration.

Since returning from the bone bruise that kept him out of Game 2, Tatum has celebrated his threes by reaching his arms over his head and grabbing his taped-up right wrist.

“Shoutout to the rook, man, Baylor,” he said. “He came up with the celebration when I hit a three. I think people are taking notice, and it’s a new thing for now.”

Tatum suffered the injury on a hard foul by Magic guard Kentavious Caldwell-Pope in Game 1 — the first of three Flagrant 1 fouls Orlando has committed in the series — and missed the first playoff game of his NBA career as a result. In his first game back last Friday, he scored 36 points but committed seven turnovers in a 95-93 Celtics loss.

On Sunday, Tatum lowered his turnover total to two and was similarly successful as a scorer, tallying 37 points, 14 rebounds, three assists and three steals in a bounce-back win for Boston. Sixteen of his points came in the fourth quarter, including nine in the final three minutes.

Though the Celtics removed Tatum from their injury report ahead of Game 4, he said postgame that his wrist had not fully healed.

“I mean, yeah, it’s whatever,” Tatum said. “I know what I’m dealing with. My team knows how serious it is, but it’s that time of year. We’re all sacrificing our bodies and going through things. It’s the playoffs. I doubt anybody feels 100%, but you step on that floor, do what you can, give it your all. It’s all about trying to figure out how to win.”

After Orlando pulled even with 4:18 to play, Tatum outscored the Magic by himself down the stretch, scoring nine of Boston’s final 11 points. He made all 14 of his foul shots in the game — including three after a costly late-game foul by Banchero — after going 12-for-12 from the line in Game 3.

“(That’s) just poise,” Mazzulla said. “Poise and having an understanding of your environment. Obviously, some shot-making there, but at the same time, physical drives, getting to the free-throw line. At the end of the day, both teams were playing physical. You have to be able to execute at both ends of the floor, and I thought he did a great job of that.”

Holiday out for Game 5

The Celtics once again will be without Holiday as they look to eliminate the Orlando Magic on Tuesday night at TD Garden.

Boston ruled the starting guard out for Game 5 of the first-round playoff series with a right hamstring strain. Holiday also sat out Games 3 and 4 in Orlando.

The severity of Holiday’s injury is unclear, but the team’s updates have not inspired optimism. The Celtics ruled the 34-year-old out the day before each of their last two games rather than listing him as questionable or doubtful.

Mazzulla has described Holiday’s status as “day to day.”

Holiday is one of the Celtics’ best and most versatile defenders, and he has the ability to swing games with his scoring. Boston is 21-2 this season when Holiday scores at least 13 points and 17-1 when he makes at least three 3-pointers, which he did in Game 1 against Orlando.

“He put the team on his back from that passion and emotion standpoint, and that’s why Jrue Holiday is Jrue Holiday,” Mazzulla said after that game. “So we’re lucky to have him. … We do feed off his physicality and his presence.”

Fellow guard Derrick White said Boston “honestly … can’t replace what Jrue Holiday brings on both sides of the ball.”

Jaylen Brown, who tallied 21 points and 11 rebounds in Game 4, is questionable for Game 5 with the right knee posterior impingement that has nagged him since before the NBA All-Star break.

The Celtics have had their full starting lineup for just one game in the series.