The Boston Celtics host the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series Tuesday night at TD Garden, with tipoff set for 7:00 PM ET. Boston leads 1-0 after its 123-91 win in Game 1, a game that briefly looked out of reach before the Celtics turned it into a 32-point win.
That opener mattered because teams that win Game 1 of a best-of-7 series at home go on to win the series 86.0% of the time, and teams that take the first two at home win it 94% of the time. If the Celtics win again tonight, the pressure shifts sharply onto Philadelphia; if the 76ers steal Game 2, Boston's series odds drop to 76.6% even after the fast start.
Game 1 showed how deep Boston's rotation can be when it is rolling. No Celtics player logged more than 33 minutes, six scored in double figures and 12 different players got on the floor. The Celtics also outscored Philadelphia 37-27 in bench points, a useful edge against a team that leaned on its second unit for 27 points in the opener.
This celtics game tonight comes with a different look than the regular season produced. The teams split four meetings 2-2, with the 76ers winning 117-116 in Boston on October 22 and 102-100 in Philadelphia on November 11, while the Celtics answered with a 109-108 win in Philadelphia on October 31 and a 114-98 victory in Boston on March 1. Jayson Tatum did not play in all four games, and Paul George did not play in all four either, so the season series did not show the full version of either roster.
Philadelphia also arrives with a major frontcourt issue. Joel Embiid underwent an appendectomy on April 9, recovery from that procedure can take anywhere from 20 days to 5 weeks, and he will miss at least the first part of the series. That leaves Adem Bona expected to start at center again, while Ron Harper, Jr. is probable with a right ankle sprain.
The matchup still carries enough history to give it weight beyond one night. Boston has won all three playoff series between these teams in the Brown/Tatum era, in 2018, 2020 and 2023, and the Celtics lead the all-time postseason series 67-50. They are also 157-58 all time against Philadelphia in games played in Boston, which makes TD Garden a hard place for the 76ers to change the script.
Wednesday's broadcast will be carried on Peacock and NBCSN, with radio coverage on 98.5 Sports Hub, 97.5 Fanatic and Sirius XM. The listed officials are Marc Davis, Sean Wright and Marat Kogut, and the probable starters point to Derrick White opposite Tyrese Maxey.
Boston does not need to reinvent anything after Game 1. It needs the same pace, the same depth and a sharper response if Philadelphia makes this one competitive late, because the 76ers were the NBA's No. 1 clutch defense in the regular season and finished 23-18 in games with clutch minutes while Boston went 16-17. That is the hinge in this series now: whether the Celtics can keep the game from reaching the kind of late possession battle Philadelphia defended best all year.
The bench lists underline how many moving parts remain available. The Celtics have Payton Pritchard, Hugo Gonzalez, Luka Garza, Amare Williams, Baylor Scheierman, Max Shulga, Nikola Vucevic, Ron Harper, Jr., Delano Banton and John Tonje available, while the 76ers list Andre Drummond, Quentin Grimes, Kyle Lowry, Justin Edwards and Trendon Watford. For Boston, another clean win would turn a strong opening into command. For Philadelphia, this is already close to a must-answer night.