Celtics clinch top‑four
The Boston Celtics have clinched a top‑four playoff seed after beating the Charlotte Hornets, guaranteeing at least first‑round home court (cbssports.com). Jayson Tatum poured in a season‑high 32 points while Payton Pritchard added 28 points, 6 rebounds and 6 assists and Neemias Queta chipped in 17 and 8 rebounds in the win (x.com).
Boston moved to 50-24 with Sunday’s win, leaving eight regular-season games on the schedule for the 82-game 2025-26 slate. Detroit leads the Eastern Conference at 53-20, with Boston in second and the New York Knicks sitting at 48-26 — the Celtics currently hold roughly a 1.5-game edge on New York for the conference’s top tier. Payton Pritchard has become a primary late-season scorer while Brown has missed time, averaging 25.1 points, 4.9 rebounds and 7.3 assists across the eight games Brown was absent before Sunday. Jaylen Brown was ruled out of Sunday’s game with left Achilles tendinitis, and the team also listed Derrick White as unavailable, forcing Boston to lean on its bench rotation during the clinching stretch. (clnsmedia.com) Center Neemias Queta has stepped into regular minutes this season and is averaging roughly 9.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game for Boston in 2025-26. The clinch also extended Boston’s postseason appearance streak to 12 consecutive seasons, continuing the franchise’s run of playoff qualifications. Boston’s next game is scheduled at the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, March 30, 2026, a matchup that begins a compact final stretch where Boston will try to improve its conference standing before April’s play-in and playoff calendar.
