Celtics to face Philadelphia 76ers in first round of NBA playoffs

The Boston Celtics finally know who they’ll face in the first round of the 2026 NBA playoffs.

Boston will face the Philadelphia 76ers in their opening playoff series, with the Sixers earning a trip to Boston after defeating the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference play-in championship on Wednesday night.

​Philly — the No. 7 seed — beat the eighth-seeded Magic, 109-97, at Xfinity Mobile Arena, with Tyrese Maxey leading the way with 31 points on 11-for-25 shooting.

Game 1 between Boston and Philadelphia is scheduled for Sunday, April 19 — with tip-off from TD Garden set for 1 p.m.

This isn’t the first time the Celtics and Sixers have met in the postseason, as this first-round matchup marks the 23rd playoff series between the two teams.

Boston was the Sixers’ favorite until late in the postseason — winning each of the last six head-to-head meetings dating back to the 1985 Eastern Conference Finals.

Boston and Philly last met in the 2023 Eastern Conference Semifinals — where the Celtics came back from a 3-2 deficit and defeated the 76ers in seven games.

Boston won 2-2 over the Sixers during the regular season, although both losses came before Jayson Tatum returned to the lineup in March after a long recovery from a ruptured Achilles tendon.

The Sixers — who enter the first round with a 45-37 record — boast one of the league’s best scorers in Maxey, who ranks fifth in the NBA at 28.3 points per game.

But Philly will also be without veteran center and former MVP Joel Embiid at least for the start of this series — as the 32-year-old big man underwent a successful appendectomy last Thursday. There is no specific timetable for his return to court.

Here’s a look at Boston’s full first-round schedule against the Sixers:

• Game 1: Sunday 19 April. 1 p.m., TD Garden, Boston. Televised on ABC.
• Game 2: Tuesday, April 21, 7 p.m., TD Garden, Boston. Running on peacock.
• Game 3: Friday, April 24 at 7pm @ Philadelphia. Streaming on Prime Video.
• Game 4: Sunday, April 26 at 7pm @ Philadelphia. It airs on NBC and streams on Peacock.
• Game 5 (if necessary): Tuesday 28 April. Timing will be determined later. TD Garden, Boston. Television network TBD.
• Game 6 (if necessary): Thursday 30 April. Timing will be determined later. @philadelphia. Television network TBD.
• Game 7 (if necessary): Saturday, May 2. Timing will be determined later. TD Park. Television network TBD.

Connor Ryan is a staff writer covering the Bruins, Celtics, Patriots and Red Sox for Boston.com, a role he has held since 2023.