Celtics clinch top‑6
Boston clinched a top-6 Eastern seed after a game led by Jayson Tatum’s season-high 32 points — with Payton Pritchard adding 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and Neemias Queta contributing 17 and 8. The clinch reshapes East matchups as the postseason nears. (x.com) (sports.yahoo.com)
Boston defeated the Charlotte Hornets 114-99 on March 29, 2026, a road victory that officially clinched a playoff berth for the Celtics. (espn.com) The win was Boston’s 50th of the season, extending the franchise’s streak of 50‑win campaigns to five straight years. (nba.com) Sunday’s result also secured a top‑six finish for Boston — guaranteeing the Celtics will skip the April 14 SoFi play‑in tournament and enter the playoffs directly. (nba.com) This marks the Celtics’ 12th consecutive postseason appearance, the longest active run in the league. (espn.com) Standing implications: Detroit has held the East’s top spot and sits four games ahead of Boston in the race for the No. 1 seed. (foxsports.com) Boston still controls its immediate seeding destiny, holding a two‑game cushion over the New York Knicks with eight regular‑season games remaining to jostle for the No. 2 spot. (newsbreak.com) The Celtics reached these milestones while managing minutes — Jaylen Brown and Derrick White did not play in Charlotte — and the team is 9‑2 in the 11 games since Jayson Tatum returned from Achilles rehabilitation, a stretch coach Joe Mazzulla credited to organizational alignment. (si.com)
