Boston Celtics
Recreation 1 between the Celtics and Sixers will tip off on Sunday afternoon.
The Boston Celtics lastly know who they’ll face within the first spherical of the 2026 NBA playoffs.
Boston will battle the Philadelphia 76ers in its opening playoff collection, with the Sixers incomes a visit as much as Boston after defeating the Orlando Magic within the Japanese Convention Play-in Match on Wednesday evening.
Philly — the No. 7 seed — beat the eighth-seeded Magic, 109-97, at Xfinity Cell Area, with Tyrese Maxey main the best way with 31 factors off of 11-for-25 capturing.
Recreation 1 between Boston and Philadelphia is about for Sunday, April 19 — with tip-off from TD Backyard set for 1 p.m.
That is removed from the primary time that the Celtics and Sixers have met within the postseason, with this first-round showdown making the twenty third playoff collection between the 2 franchises.
Boston has had the higher of the Sixers as of late within the postseason — successful every of the final six head-to-head bouts going again to the 1985 Japanese Convention Finals.
Boston and Philly final met within the 2023 Japanese Convention Semifinals — with the Celtics rallying again from a 3-2 collection deficit and defeating the 76ers in seven video games.
Boston went 2-2 in opposition to the Sixers throughout the common season, though each of these losses got here earlier than Jayson Tatum returned to the lineup in March following an prolonged restoration from a ruptured Achilles tendon.
The Sixers — who enter the primary spherical with a 45-37 report — boast one of many prime scorers within the league in Maxey, who ranks fifth within the NBA at 28.3 factors per recreation.
However Philly can also be going to be with out veteran heart and former MVP Joel Embiid for no less than the beginning of this collection — because the 32-year-old huge man underwent a profitable appendectomy final Thursday. There isn’t a set timeline for his return to the courtroom.
Right here’s a take a look at Boston’s full first-round schedule in opposition to the Sixers:
- Recreation 1: Sunday, April 19. 1 p.m. TD Backyard, Boston. Televised on ABC.
- Recreation 2: Tuesday, April 21. 7 p.m. TD Backyard, Boston. Streaming on Peacock.
- Recreation 3: Friday, April 24. 7 p.m. @ Philadelphia. Streaming on Prime Video.
- Recreation 4: Sunday, April 26. 7 p.m. @ Philadelphia. Televised on NBC and streaming on Peacock.
- Recreation 5 (if crucial): Tuesday, April 28. Time TBD. TD Backyard, Boston. TV community TBD.
- Recreation 6 (if crucial): Thursday, April 30. Time TBD. @ Philadelphia. TV community TBD.
- Recreation 7 (if crucial): Saturday, Might 2. Time TBD. TD Backyard. TV community TBD.
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