Celtics draw 76ers

Boston will open the National Basketball Association playoffs against Philadelphia after the 76ers won the Eastern Conference 7-versus-8 play-in game on Wednesday night. (nba.com) Philadelphia beat Orlando 109-97 on April 15 to claim the No. 7 seed and lock in the first-round series with the No. 2 Celtics. (nba.com) Game 1 is set for Sunday, April 19, at 1 p.m. Eastern at TD Garden in Boston, with Game 2 on Tuesday, April 21, before the series shifts to Philadelphia for Games 3 and 4 on April 24 and April 26. (nba.com) The play-in tournament decides the last two playoff spots in each conference. The 7-8 game sends the winner straight into the bracket as the No. 7 seed, while the loser gets one more game for the No. 8 seed. (nba.com) That format kept Boston waiting through Wednesday night even after the Celtics finished 56-26 and secured the East’s No. 2 seed. Philadelphia and Orlando both finished 45-37, and the Sixers hosted because they held the tiebreaker. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The matchup brings together two Atlantic Division rivals that split their four regular-season meetings. CBS Boston reported that three of those four games were decided by one basket. (cbsnews.com) Philadelphia reached this spot one year after winning another play-in game as a No. 7 seed in 2024, according to the team’s game preview. This time, the reward is a best-of-seven series against a Boston team that went 11 games better in the standings. (nba.com) (nbcphiladelphia.com) The schedule is front-loaded: Game 1 on April 19, Game 2 on April 21, Game 3 on April 24 and Game 4 on April 26. If needed, Games 5 through 7 would run from April 28 through May 2. (nba.com) So the Celtics’ postseason path now has an opponent, a calendar and a familiar rival. Boston gets home court first; Philadelphia arrives with the momentum of a win-and-in night. (cbsnews.com)