East path clarified
- The Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers 108-100 on Friday night in Game 3, while the Atlanta Hawks entered Saturday with a 2-1 lead over the New York Knicks in the other East series. - Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown scored 25 points apiece for Boston, and Tyrese Maxey had 31 for Philadelphia; Saturday’s Knicks-Hawks Game 4 now shapes the other half of that bracket. - The No. 2 Celtics-No. 7 76ers winner is lined up to face the No. 3 Knicks-No. 6 Hawks winner in the Eastern Conference semifinals. (cbssports.com)
Boston took back control of its first-round series Friday, beating Philadelphia 108-100 in Game 3 to move ahead 2-1. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) That result matters beyond Celtics-76ers. The winner of that series is set to face the winner of Knicks-Hawks in the Eastern Conference semifinals. (cbssports.com) (espn.com) Atlanta holds the edge on the other side of that path. NBA.com’s playoff schedule listed the Hawks up 2-1 over New York entering Game 4 on Saturday, April 25. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) The immediate picture is simple: Boston can push Philadelphia to the brink in Game 4 on Sunday, April 26, and Atlanta can seize a 3-1 lead over New York on Saturday. (nba.com 1) (nba.com 2) Boston’s Game 3 win came behind 25 points from Jayson Tatum and 25 more from Jaylen Brown. Tyrese Maxey scored 31 for Philadelphia, which again played without Joel Embiid after his April 9 appendectomy. (nba.com) Tatum scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, and Brown scored eight straight late to open up a 96-92 lead. Boston’s closing burst flipped home-court advantage back to the Celtics after Philadelphia’s Game 2 upset. (nba.com) (nba.com) The Hawks got to this spot by stealing Game 2 at Madison Square Garden, 107-106, after trailing by 12 in the fourth quarter. That comeback evened the series before Atlanta moved in front 2-1. (nba.com) (nba.com) The seeding explains why these two series are paired. Boston is the East’s No. 2 seed against No. 7 Philadelphia, and New York is No. 3 against No. 6 Atlanta, so their winners feed into the same semifinal. (cbssports.com) (espn.com) Nothing is locked yet, but the bracket line is now clear. The next Celtics-76ers and Knicks-Hawks games will decide whether Boston and Atlanta can turn that path into the East’s next confirmed matchup. (nba.com) (cbssports.com)
