Celtics clinch top-four seed
Boston has clinched a top-four seed in the Eastern Conference with two weeks left in the regular season — a key step toward secure home-court in the early playoffs. (cbssports.com) (espn.com)
Sunday’s game at Spectrum Center finished 114-99 in Boston’s favor; Jayson Tatum led the team with 32 points and Payton Pritchard scored 28 in that March 29 matchup. (espn.com) That win left the Celtics at 50-24 through March 29, which — on an 82-game regular-season schedule — means Boston has eight games remaining to set final seeding. ( ) The NBA’s SoFi Play-In Tournament is scheduled for April 14–17 and the first round of the playoffs opens April 18, so teams finishing inside the top six will avoid the Play-In window. ( ) The March 29 result also pushed Boston’s postseason streak to 12 consecutive seasons, the longest active run in the NBA heading into the 2026 postseason. (espn.com) Eastern Conference standings show Detroit at 54-20 and Boston at 50-24 (a four-game gap), with New York (48-27) and Cleveland (46-28) occupying the positions that comprise the current top-four landscape. (foxsports.com) Boston’s next assignment is a road game at Atlanta on Monday as the team closes out eight regular-season games that will firm up final matchups and tiebreaker scenarios. ( ) Under the NBA’s 2-2-1-1-1 playoff format, the higher-seeded team hosts Games 1, 2, 5 and 7, meaning Boston would start any first-round series with home-court for those games as the higher seed. ( )
