at
Boston Celtics (1-1) at Philadelphia 76ers (1-1)
Friday, April 24, 2026
7:00 PM ET
Round 1 Game #3 Road Game #1
TV: Prime Video
Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub, 97.5 The Fanatic, Sirius XM
Xfinity Mobile Arena 
Probable Starting Matchups Point Guard 
vs
Derrick White vs Tyrese Maxey
Shooting Guard 
vs
Jaylen Brown vs VJ Edgecombe
Small Forward 
vs
Sam Hauser vs Kelly Oubre, Jr
Poward Forward 
vs
Jayson Tatum vs Paul George
Center
vs
Neemias Queta vs Adem Bona
Celtics ReservesPayton Pritchard
Hugo Gonzalez
Luka Garza
Amare Williams
Baylor Scheierman
Max Shulga
Nikola Vucevic
Ron Harper, Jr
Delano Banton
John Tonje
2-Way PlayersNone
Injuries/OutNone
Head CoachJoe Mazzulla
76ers Reserves Andre Drummond
Quentin Grimes
Kyle Lowry
Justin Edwards
Trendon Watford
Dalen Terry
Dominick Barlow
Jabari Walker
2-Way PlayersMarJon Beauchamp
Tyrese Martin
Injuries/OutJoel Embiid (Appendix) doubtful
Head CoachNick Nurse
Game Notes After splitting the games in Boston, the Celtics travel to Philadelphia for Game 3. The Celtics dominated Game 1 with a 123-91 win over the 76ers. The 76ers topped the Celtics 111-97 in Game 2 to tie the game at 1 game each. The Celtics have a 67-51 record against the 76ers overall in the playoffs. In the regular season, the Celtics are 272-199 overall, all time against the 76ers. They are i93-129 all time in Philly.
The Celtics have struggled in Game 2 over the past few years. In their past 20 playoff games, the Celtics have gone 14-6. They are 11-2 in games other than Game 2, in which they are just 3-4. In 2024, when they won the championship, They lost Game 2 to Miami in Round 1, but came back to win Game 3 by 20 points and won the series in 5. They also lost Game 2 at home to the Cavs in Round 2 and won Game 3 by 13 points.
Since 2023, the Celtics are 7-1 after a loss with 5 of those wins coming on the road. In 2024, when the Celtics won the Championship, they went 16-3 in the playoffs, Two of those three losses were in Game 2s at home in the first 2 rounds. In the regular season, the Celtics were 23-18 on the road. The 76ers were 23-18 at home. The Celtics were very good about bouncing back after a loss in the regular season, going 21-5 after a loss.
The Celtics need to avoid close games down the stretch in these playoffs if they can help it. The 76ers had the #1 clutch defense in the NBA in the regular season They had a 98.6 defensive rating during the last 5 minutes of games that were within 5 points. They were 23-18 in games that included clutch minutes. The Celtics were 16-17 in games that included clutch minutes and that includes going 1-2 against Philadelphia this season.
Teams that win Game 1 of a best of 7 series at home go on to win the series 86.0% of the time. Teams that win the first 2 games at home go on to win the series 94% of the time. However, if a home team wins game 1 but loses game 2 in a best of 7 series, the odds of them going on to win the series drops down to 76.6%. The team that wins Game 3 of a series that is tied 1-1 goes on to win the series 73.3% of the time.
The Celtics come into this game with a clean injury report. For the 76ers, Joel Embiid is the only player on their injury report. Embiid underwent an appendectomy on April 9. Recovery for an appendectomy is anywhere from 20 days to 5 weeks. After missing the first 2 games, he has been upgraded to doubtful for this game. I'm guessing that Adem Bona will start at center once again.
Key Matchups vs
Derrick White vs Tyrese Maxey
In the regular season, Maxey averaged 28.3 points, 4.1 rebounds, and 6.6 assists per game while shooting 46.2% from the field and 36.7% from beyond the arc. In Game1, the Celtics were able to hold him to 21 points on 20 shots along with 1 rebound and 8 assists while shooting 40% from the field and 25% from beyond the arc. He pretty much had his way in Game 2 with 29 points, 4 rebounds, 9 assists, and 2 steals while shooting 39.3% from the field and 41.7% from beyond the arc. The Celtics must do a better job of defending him in this game.
vs
Jaylen Brown vs VJ Edgecombe
Edgecombe averaged 16.0 points, 5.6 rebounds, and 4.2 assists per game while shooting 43.8% from the field and 35.4% from beyond the arc. In Game 1, he finished with 13 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals while shooting 37.5% from the field and going 0-5 from beyond the arc. In Game 2, he finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals while shooting 60% from the field and 60% from beyond the arc. The Celtics left him open way too much. They absolutely have to defend him better in this game.
Honorable Mention Jayson Tatum vs Paul George
Neither of these players were able to play in any of the 4 games between Boston and Philly this season. In Game 1, George finished with 17 points, 4 rebounds and 1 assist while shooting 50% from the field and 50% from beyond the arc, but he only took 8 shots. In game 2, he finished with 19 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block while shooting 53.8% from the field and 40.3% from beyond the arc. As with Maxey and Edgecombe, the Celtics have to do a better job of defending him in this game.
Keys to the Game Defense - As always, defense is absolutely the key to winning this, and every, game. Defense becomes even more important in the playoffs. It is very true that defense wins championships. The Celtics need to continue to make defense a priority and they need to play physical, lock down defense for all 48 minutes. In Game 1, the Celtics held the 76ers to 38.9% from the field and 17.4% from beyond the arc. In game 2, the Celtics defense faltered as the 76ers shot 47.8% from the field and 48.7% from beyond the arc. The Celtics need to make defense their priority and they need to play physical, lock down defense for all 48 minutes.
Rebound - Rebounding is also one of the biggest keys to winning every game. As Pat Riley once said, "No rebounds, no rings. In the regular season, the Celtics were 43-12 in games that they tied or out-rebounded opponents and just 11-13 in games in which they were out-rebounded. In Game 1, the Celtics out-rebounded the 76ers 43-40. In Game 2, they out-rebounded the 76ers 50-42, but they were unable to capitalize on them since they shot s poorly. They simply have to fight harder to grab rebounds than the 76ers if they want to win this game. Every Celtic has got to crash the boards and fight for every rebound.
Offensive Execution - The Celtics shot just 39.2% from the field and 26% from beyond the arc in Game 2. It wasn't just one Celtic who struggled to hit their 3's, it was almost everyone on the team. In the last 161 games, including the regular season and playoffs, that was just the 12th time that the Celtics didn't shoot better than 26% from three. They lost all 12 of those games. Three of those games were in the playoffs, Games 1 and 2 against New York last year and Game 2 vs Philadelphia. They need to stay focused on taking and making good shots. But, if they struggle from 23 early in the game, they need to score in the midrange or in the paint and not continue to brick 3's the entire game.
Move the Ball Carefully - The Celtics need to move the ball and trust their teammates. They are at their best when they keep the ball moving and find the open man. When they lapse into hero ball and dribble too much, they tend to struggle, as they did in Game 2. They are 37-2 when they have 25 or more assists and 20-0 when they have 29 or more assists. In Game 1, the Celtics kept the ball moving and they had 31 assists. In Game 2, the ball tended to stick more and they finished with 24 assists. They also turned the ball over 13 times for 15 points. They have to move the ball carefully to have a better chance to win this one.
X-Factors On the Road - The Celtics will be on the road and facing a very hostile crowd. Philly fans hate the Celtics because they have pretty much owned them in recent years. They hate Jayson Tatum because the Celtics took him with Philly's pick after the 76ers traded up to take Markelle Fultz. There will likely be a lot of boos and the Celtics need to play through them. They have to shake off the distractions of playing on the road game and stay focused on playing good basketball.
Coaching - Joe Mazzulla is in his 4th season as Celtics' head coach. He won a title in 2024 with a very talented team that was packed with shooting stars. Now he has to win in a different way since his personnel has changed and he did a great job in the regular season. Nick Nurse is in his 8th season as a head coach overall and his 3rd as the 76ers head coach. He won a title with the Raptors in 2019. In the playoffs, coaching becomes more important as it becomes a game of adjustments as they play the same team game after game. Joe came out on top in Game 1 and Nurse made adjustments to win Game 2. Joe has to be ready to adjust again and have the Celtics ready to come out strong and play harder throughout the game.
Officiating - Officiating is always an x-factor. Every crew calls the game differently. Some call it tight and call every bit of contact while others allow more physical play. Some favor the home team while others call both sides evenly. The Celtics have to adjust to the way the refs are calling the game and not allow the no calls and bad calls to affect their focus on playing the game.
Topic: Celtics (1-1) at 76ers (1-1) Round 1 Game 3 4/24/26 (Read 100 times)