Neemias Helps Celtics to Historic Playoff Victory

Dominating Game 1 of the Eastern Conference first round almost from the tip-off—with the opponent's best effort being a 6-6 tie—the Celtics kicked off their 80th season's playoff run in style, defeating the 76ers 123-91 (33-18, 31-25, 28-20, 31-28). This marked the largest ever margin of victory in a playoff opener for the Boston franchise, one of only three teams remaining since the league's inaugural championship.

The fans, who packed the TD Garden—one of 11 arenas this season to sell out all 41 regular season games—repeatedly chanted "We want Boston! We want Boston!" in the final minutes. This was a direct response to the Philadelphia fans' chants when the Sixers (7th in the East) beat the Magic in the play-in tournament, securing their spot to face the conference's second seed.

With the 76ers missing their star center Joel Embiid, it was anticipated that Nick Nurse's team would face significant challenges against one of the Eastern Conference finalists. However, the extent of their struggles was far greater than expected.

Neemias Queta opened the scoring (1-0) by sinking the first of two free throws. After a 6-6 tie, the home team quickly surged ahead to a 22-11 lead. By this point, Queta was already on the bench, having committed two fouls with 8:39 still remaining in the opening quarter.

Aware of his defensive importance in the paint, the Sixers' players—led by Tyrese Maxey (21 pts, 8 ast), Paul George (17 pts, 4 reb), and rookie VJ Edgecombe (13 pts, 13 reb, 3 ast)—consistently drove to the basket, attempting to draw fouls on Queta. They were successful, employing the same strategy against Nikola Vucevic (3 pts, 6 reb, 3 ast).

Nevertheless, this didn't prevent the home team's defensive prowess and offensive versatility from making the game lopsided far too early. Six of the Celtics' 12 players registered at least 10 points. Jaylen Brown (4 reb, 3 ast, 2 stl) scored 16 of his 26 points in the third quarter, and alongside Jayson Tatum (25 pts, 11 reb, 7 ast, 2 stl), Payton Pritchard (12 pts, 6 ast), and Sam Hauser (12 pts, 7 reb), they never allowed the intensity to drop.

Despite returning in the second period and scoring four points to reach 7 points and 1 rebound by halftime, Neemias, playing in his first career playoff game as a starter, quickly accumulated four fouls after the break. Joe Mazzulla briefly pulled him out but then gambled on the Portuguese big man to intimidate in the restricted area, leaving him on the court until 5:48 remaining in the game. He exited to a standing ovation, finishing with 13 points (5/5 from the field and 3/4 from the free-throw line), 2 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal, and no turnovers in 15 minutes.

Notably, the hosts finished with 16/44 from beyond the arc (36%), with Sam Hauser hitting 4/6, while Philadelphia managed only 4 successful attempts out of 23 (17%).

Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday, once again in Boston, in a best-of-seven series following a 2-2-1-1-1 format.