Image source: Getty Images
2025-26 NBA Post Season
Playoffs, first round - Game 1
Boston Celtics v Philadelphia 76ers
TD Garden
Boston, Massachusetts
Sunday 19 April 2026
Tip-off at 18:00
Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers will continue their decades-long rivalry in the Playoffs when they meet in
Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first round at the TD Garden on the evening of Sunday, April 19.
The two teams have contested the Eastern Conference finals 13 times alone, and the Celtics have won their last six post-season series against the Sixers, most recently in the 2023 semi-finals (4-3).
Philadelphia enjoyed some early success in their match-ups as the Syracuse Nationals, winning four series' in a row from 1954 to 1956.
Joe Mazzulla's team finished the regular season with the third-best record in the NBA (56-26) thanks to an 8-2 run in the final stretch.
Jaylen Brown was their star performer in the absence of injured Jayson Tatum, averaging a career-best 28.7 points per game, 6.9 rebounds and 5.1 assists.
Image source: Getty Images
For Mazzulla, it doesn't matter whether it's a Playoff game or a pre-season game - the process remains the same: play what's in front of you.
"It's the same in the fundamentals and the execution. What's different is the intensity - [and] obviously the stakes," he said. "So we can't be distracted by the things that we can't control is what we're saying.
"You still have to rebound, you have to run back on defense, you have to defend without fouling, you have to screen, you have to know your personnel, you have to be able to execute, you've got to be able to read two-on-ones, all that stuff is no different than a pickup game.
"What changes is the physicality that you have to do it, but also the intensity. And so that's the piece that we have to be ready to bring."
The Sixers had to navigate the play-in tournament after finishing just outside the top six in the East as they closed out the regular season with a 6-4 run.
Nick Nurse's team beat Orlando Magic 109-97 on Thursday, April 16 to keep their post- season alive, with Tyrese Maxey scoring seven straight points late in the fourth quarter to finish with 31 for the night.
Image source: Getty Images
The point guard has led Philadelphia's Playoff push following another injury-riddled season for Joel Embiid, averaging 28.3 points per game, 4.1 rebounds and 6.6 assists.
Nurse is relishing the challenge of facing the 2024 NBA champions, saying: "First of all, it'll be a great atmosphere in both arenas. That's always a blast.
"When you got two arenas that are electric with energy and Playoff time, you got to really look forward and enjoy that. We'll do our best."
Boston Celtics v Philadelphia 76ers - Head-to-head, Post Season
Games played: 116
Celtics wins: 66
Sixers wins: 50
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