When the Celtics drilled an absurd 24 of their 53 3-point attempts during a blowout Game 4 win in Xfinity Mobile Arena Sunday night, I half expected the Twitter discourse to regain its steam. 

The Celtics are 3-point merchants! The Celtics don’t play fun basketball! 

Wrong, and wrong. 

On a night where Boston set a franchise playoff record for made threes in a game, breaking a previous record of 22 set three times (last done in Game 5 against the Knicks last year), the Celtics balanced beautiful ball movement (28 assists on 42 baskets) with pure isolation scoring, often having the Sixers defense 1-2 steps behind the action. 

After revisiting every possession that ended in a 3-point shot on Sunday night, I came away with the following observations: The Celtics exploited the 76ers’ help-heavy defense, and Payton Pritchard is a mad man. 

After two games of admirable perimeter and help defense, which did its part in making the Celtics work to touch the paint in both their Game 2 loss and clutch Game 3 win, Philadelphia’s help all of sudden hit a snag. The Celtics not only had success getting into the paint, but their patience once they reached the middle of the floor paid off.

With a less mobile big on the floor in Joel Embiid, the Sixers had to help collapse the paint, or pressure Boston’s stars as soon as the ball hit their hands, and the Celtics knew that help was coming, making a generous amount of kickout passes that either forced rotations, or led directly to an open shot. 

It started in the first quarter, even when the Celtics didn’t run out of the gate with a hot shooting faucet. 

This possession late in the first quarter is a good example of how they attacked defenders and moved the ball in space, even if the result wasn’t a made basket. Part of a possession featuring four missed 3-point attempts and three offensive rebounds, this part of the action sees Jayson Tatum establish the drive-and-kick game by getting into a spot deep in the paint, accompanied by two Sixers and another (Tyrese Maxey) going for a quick dig. He kicks to space in the corner, the extra pass is made to Nikola Vučević, and it’s a good look from distance. 

They punished this kind of help all game. The following clip is five different plays throughout the night, not all the same action, not all the same shooters, but notice how much attention the 76ers place on the ballhandler, how many Philadelphia defenders are in the restricted area to close around a paint touch, and how much space there is for kickouts to open shooters.  

Whether it’s a straight-line drive to the basket, a pick-and-pop, or a Jaylen Brown grind to the nail, the Celtics always looked ready for the help and were aware of where the ball should go once they committed to that help. 

This applies to mismatch hunting as well, like when Tatum got his much sought-after switch onto Embiid late in the third quarter. Paul George had no choice but to double the ball, giving up space for Vooch at the top of the arc, a shot that Sixers have lived with during this series. But as VJ Edgecombe cheats up a little from his spot across the floor to account for the expected swing to Vooch, Tatum surprises everyone, skipping the ball across the floor to a wide-open Pritchard. 

Great playmaking rewarded by a great shot.  

Back to Payton Pritchard. He simply put on a show Sunday night. Like, one of those performances, the ones not easily forgotten by a Celtics bench player on the big stage. 

Pritchard’s isolation creation could be found all over this win, and throughout his 32-point effort, it genuinely seemed like even the best defense didn’t really stand a chance when the shot left his hands. 

It started with his first three of the night with 4:30 left in the first quarter. The Celtics had been 0/4 from distance at that point in the game, and their first make came from their early offense. This is a basic double drag action, two screens set next to each other, and Philly takes the switch here, leaving Andre Drummond alone on Pritchard, who has enough space for a quick release three to beat Drummond’s contest. 

He then proceeded to finish 6/12 from three, hitting shots through a range of isolation handles, catch-and-shoot looks, and timeless buzzer-beaters against a helpless Sixers defense that sluggishly looked steps behind Boston throughout the night. 

On a historic shooting night, the Celtics gave themselves a chance to close the book on their first round series at home in five games, a luxury considering the state of the Eastern Conference, which will see two series guaranteed to extend to 6 games and another that is likely to do so between Detroit and Orlando. 

What to know about NBA playoffs second-round bracket as teams clinch originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

NBA teams are starting to flip the page to the next round.

The top-seeded Oklahoma City Thunder were the first team to punch their ticket to the conference semifinals, completing a four-game sweep over the No. 8 Phoenix Suns on Monday.

Several other series could be on the verge of advancing, with the Boston Celtics, Orlando Magic and San Antonio Spurs all leading 3-1.

Here’s what to know about the second round so far as teams clinch:

When does the second round of the NBA playoffs start?

The start date for the second round will depend on when certain first-round series conclude. The sooner teams on the same side of the bracket move on, the faster their next matchup will begin.

NBA playoffs second-round matchups

Here’s a look at who has qualified and which matchups are in store next:

EASTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Detroit Pistons/No. 8 Orlando Magic vs. No. 4 Cleveland Cavaliers/No. 5 Toronto Raptors

No. 2 Boston Celtics/No. 7 Philadelphia 76ers vs. No. 3 New York Knicks/No. 6 Atlanta Hawks

WESTERN CONFERENCE

No. 1 Oklahoma City Thunder vs. No. 4 Los Angeles Lakers/No. 5 Houston Rockets

No. 2 San Antonio Spurs/No. 7 Portland Trail Blazers vs. No. 3 Denver Nuggets/No. 6 Minnesota Timberwolves

NBA playoffs second-round schedule

Series information will be added once available.

When do the NBA Finals start?

The championship series will begin on Wednesday, June 3, with Game 1. If necessary, Game 7 would be on Friday, June 19.

The vibes weren’t great when the Spurs last left San Antonio. With the series tied 1-1 and Victor Wembanyama in concussion protocol, things looked bleak for the Silver and Black. Now, heading back home, the Spurs find themselves up 3-1 in their first-round playoff series against the Portland Trail Blazers, with Wembanyama fully healthy.

San Antonio is coming off two straight, gutsy comeback victories in Portland. Now they’ll have a chance to close out the series in front of their home crowd. It would be the Spurs’ first playoff series win since 2017.

The Spurs will need to protect the paint and take care of the ball against a desperate Trail Blazers squad. With their backs against the wall, expect Portland to come out playing physical, going right at the rim, and looking to force turnovers defensively. San Antonio has stepped up to the physical challenge so far in the playoffs. They’ll need to fend off one more effort from the Blazers to move on to the Western Conference Semifinals.

San Antonio Spurs (3-1) vs. Portland Trail Blazers (1-3)

April 28th, 2026 | 8:30 PM CT

Watch: ESPN | Listen: WOAI (1200 AM)

Spurs Injuries: None

Trail Blazers Injuries: Damian Lillard – Out (achilles)

What to watch for:

Pace of play

San Antonio has been at its best when it plays fast. Both of their big second-half runs in Portland were defined by pushing the ball down the floor and attacking the Blazers, who struggled with transition defense. Whether it was finding Wembanyama for lobs, hitting Devin Vassell early for threes, or one of Dylan Harper, Stephon Castle, or De’Aaron Fox getting downhill, San Antonio’s prettiest offense has come with speed.

With Wembanyama locking down the paint, the Spurs’ guards have been able to take more chances on the perimeter. Portland had the worst ball security in the NBA this season, averaging 17.3 per game. They turned the ball over 18 times in Game Four. San Antonio will look to force giveaways and score easy buckets on the other end.

Stephon Castle’s offense

From Game One, the Blazers have been content with putting a big man on Castle and letting him shoot. Castle has responded by hitting 42.9% of his threes in the series. He is averaging 21 points and 6.3 assists in the series. In Game Four, the Spurs seemed to figure out the defensive scheme by setting more screens for Castle lower on the court, around the free-throw line, freeing him up or forcing a switch, leading to a Wembanyama lob. When he’s off the ball, he’s been hurting the Blazers by hitting open threes.

It’ll be interesting to see whether Portland will continue to guard him with a big man or go away from the strategy in Game Five. Either way, if Castle is scoring the ball as he has in the last two games, the Spurs will be tough to beat.

Wembanyama’s shot selection

The difference between Wembanyama’s offensive impact in the first and second halves of Game Four was night and day. In the first half, he was settling for jumpers. That essentially bailed out Portland for having a smaller defender on him. In the second half, he started to get to the basket, feasting on lobs and shots around the basket. The Spurs have to get creative with how they get Wemby the ball around the basket. Elbow post-ups against smaller wings are not going to get it done. Look for more flex screens and pin-downs to get Wembanyama the ball around the basket with space to operate. Then once he establishes a rhythm inside, he can expand things out beyond the three-point arc.

One of the biggest reasons people didn’t believe in the Celtics coming into the season was because of their centers and how little they had proven entering the season. As the season went on, it became clear that Neemias Queta is a quality starting center and that Luka Garza and trade deadline addition Nikola Vucevic were good enough depth.

However, as the playoffs started, we knew the center position was where the Celtics were going to be tested the most.

Yet through Boston’s first four playoff games, we don’t really know how Joe Mazzulla and the rest of the Celtics coaches want to deploy their centers.

So far in the postseason, Neemias Queta has started all 4 games and played 73 minutes, Nikola Vucevic has played the most minutes with 85 and Luka Garza has played the least with 31 minutes played.

It is clear that Garza is the third big and although he’s the third option, he has already played a lot more than I thought he would early in the series.

A lot of Garza’s minutes have to do with the fact that Neemias Queta just cannot stay out of foul trouble. In 3 of 4 games, Queta has picked up two quick fouls and needed to hit the bench quickly.

The Celtics need Neemias Queta to stay out of foul trouble, which has been a problem for much of the first round. Queta picked up 5 fouls in Game 1 and 4 fouls in both games in Philadelphia.

It is the fouls 94 feet away from the basket that Queta cannot pick up.

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— #LetsGoCeltics (@gobosceltics) April 27, 2026

That has lead to an increase in the use of Nikola Vucevic, who gives the Celtics a different look than Queta does.

I have been pleased with the way Big Vooch has played in this series. The Celtics really needed him to pull out the Game 3 win with his 11 points and 6 rebounds off of the bench.

His defense leaves a lot to be desired. Late in Game 3, the Sixers ran the Paul George-Andre Drummond pick and roll a lot to get Vucevic in the action and it led to good results for the Sixers.

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— #LetsGoCeltics (@gobosceltics) April 27, 2026

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— #LetsGoCeltics (@gobosceltics) April 27, 2026

That is a concern, which will led to the Luka Garza playing time. While I like Garza and think he has been solid in this series, his pick and roll defense also leaves a lot to be desired.

Vucevic being the backup center makes sense — he is a more skilled offensive player than Garza is and neither guy is going to guard a ton.

I do think that Queta is Boston’s best option at center and as the rounds go on, he will be the guy that the Celtics close games with. His rim protection, ability to move his feet enough on the perimeter, offensive rebounding and the threat of the lob are all so valuable to what the Celtics want to do.

With apologies to 4th string center Amari Williams, Queta as the starter (and closer), Vucevic as the backup and Garza filling in when needed is how I would divvy up the minutes.

It is notable that Mazzulla went with Vucevic at the end of a close Game 3. In the 4th quarter of that game, Vucevic played 11:35 while Queta (and Garza) didn’t play at all. I don’t think that will be the case as the playoffs go on but the precedent is there so we will see if that happens again as the playoffs wear on.

Eighty-one seconds into the fourth quarter of Game 4, Jayson Tatum dribbled passed midcourt and with the help of a Neemias Queta screen, walked into a three-pointer. Kelly Oubre walked into his landing space for an and-1.

With that, the lead ballooned to 30 points and statistically, it was proof positive of Boston’s priorities this season: limiting turnovers, attacking the offensive glass for additional possessions, and generating good shoots, preferably threes.

“It comes down to controlling the game, having an understanding of what’s going on. We did a good job managing the game even though our shots weren’t going down,” Joe Mazzulla said after the Celtics took a 3-1 lead with their second win in Philadelphia.

“Our offensive rebounds and our turnovers. Obviously, they’re going to make a run, but we were able to manage that with getting to the free throw line, being disciplined defensively, and some good offensive execution. We just gotta manage the game, being disciplined.”

With the game out of hand and Gino dancing somewhere near North Station, the scoreboard was obvious bottom line, but dig deeper into the box score and it was a game won in the margins.

Despite the return of big man Joel Embiid, Boston held Philly without an offensive rebound until midway through the third quarter. Andre Drummond, who once admitted that he intentionally missed shots to pad his rebounding numbers, didn’t grab any in Game 4.

After allowing a Game 2 blip — the 76ers hit 19-of-39 from behind the arc — the Celtics have absolutely used the three to bury Philadelphia. In a tightly contested Game 3, they were a +24 from 3 and with 10:39 left in the 4th of Game 4, they were already a +27 after hitting 17 of 38.

The turnover differential has not exactly been the edge they held in the regular season. With the Sixers packing the paint, Brown and Tatum have been drawing pesky double teams as soon as they get anywhere near the paint and that’s generated several loose balls and points on the other end. However, Boston leads the East in assists-to-turnovers ratio at 1.96. Comparatively speaking, the conference has been an absolutely slugfest; the Magic took a 3-1 lead over the one-seed Pistons shooting 32.6% from the field; the Raptors made just 32% of their shots to knot up their series with the Cavaliers. The Celtics, on the other hand, having been moving the ball well and so far, been making shots.

The postseason is all about making adjustments, but for the most part, Boston has stuck to their core principles and are on the brink of winning their first round series tonight for the same reasons they finished with 56 wins in a gap year.

Nikola Jokic scored a triple-double to keep the Denver Nuggets' play-off hopes alive with a 125-113 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves.

Serbia's Jokic, 31, was the joint top scorer with 27 points but also chipped in with 12 rebounds and 16 assists.

The Nuggets trailed 3-1 as they welcomed Minnesota to Ball Arena, Colorado, and defeat would have seen them eliminated.

Jamal Murray scored a game-high 24 points to help Denver get back on track after three successive defeats.

"We had to play like we was down 3-1," Murray said.

"I think we did a good job of bringing energy into the game and playing for 48 minutes, not letting up off the gas. That was a great team win."

Game six of the best-of-seven series takes place on Thursday in Minneapolis.

Elsewhere, Cade Cunningham scored a game-high 25 points as his Detroit Pistons lost 94-88 against the Orlando Magic at Kia Center, Florida.

Top seeds Detroit trail 3-1 in the series and are on the brink of elimination from the play-offs.

The Magic, who finished eighth in the Eastern Conference, have not reached the second round of the play-offs since 2010 - losing six times in the first round and failing to qualify for the post-season on nine occasions.

Western Conference top seeds Oklahoma City Thunder booked their place in the second round courtesy of a 131-122 win against the Phoenix Suns.

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 31 points to seal Thunder's 4-0 series shutout at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix.

"We just came in ready," said Gilgeous-Alexander.

"We do it for each other. None of us are selfish. We all want the next man to succeed and when you have those three things and put them together you get success."

Oklahoma will face either the Los Angeles Lakers or the Houston Rockets in the second round, with the Lakers leading that series 3-1.

Flagg claims Rookie of the Year award

Teenager Cooper Flagg was named the NBA Rookie of the Year, narrowly beating former Duke University room-mate Kon Knueppel to the award.

The 19-year-old is the second youngest player to win the award behind LeBron James.

"I think you talk about pressure and things like that, this season was a lot different going into it and what I was expecting and how the season ended up turning out," Flagg said.

"I think dealing with that and adjusting and kind of getting thrown in on the fly right away like that helped me long-term and throughout the season, just getting really comfortable. I think I grew in a lot of different areas."

Flagg was selected as the number one pick in last year's draft by the Dallas Mavericks and has repaid their faith.

The American averaged 21.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.5 assists - joining Larry Bird, Michael Jordan and Luka Doncic as the only rookies to average at least 20 points, six rebounds and four assists in the 50 seasons since the NBA-ABA merger.

Flagg beat Knueppel by just 26 points in the voting - the second smallest gap between the top-two finishers for the rookie awards since the current format began in 2002-03.

The question of this game was bound to come down to one thing and one thing only: could the Minnesota Timberwolves survive the loss of not just their starting point guard but also the superstar leader of their team? The answer: a resounding no.

Unfortunately for Wolves fans, it got even worse. There are now even more questions that have been hammered into bright red Xs, screaming unfortunate nos.

Can Julius Randle lead the Wolves to one singular playoff win as the team’s leading offensive option? Doesn’t look like it. Can Jaden McDaniels upscale his scoring load with far fewer mouths to feed, especially after the amount of trash he has talked? Early returns are not conclusive, but also not encouraging.

What makes it even worse is a potential injury to Naz Reid, who collapsed at center court halfway through the third quarter after what seemed to be an inadvertent collision with Tim Hardaway Jr. We still don’t have any information on the injury, but I’m sure that update will hurt.

UPDATE: He came back out in the fourth quarter and continued to play with some clearly belabored movements, but nothing as bad as initial prognoses.

As if all of that wasn’t enough, there’s so much more to obsess about.

Let’s rapid-fire this:

• The Wolves were defeated by a Spencer Jones run straight out of the half, in which they bled threes and lacked any real playable options to challenge an opposing team’s run. Bones Hyland had moments, but there is clearly no option for explosive runs.
• Jamal Murray and Nikola Jokić played up to their regular standards. As noted by assistant coach Micah Nori, the Nuggets pushed Jokić to roll more often, leading to foul trouble for McDaniels as a helpside blocker, which in turn opened up Murray.
• Minnesota failed to find any easy shots for quick offense. They got outrun in transition, largely due to their nearly doubled number of turnovers.
• The forwards continued to struggle with foul trouble, just as they did in Game Two. This time it came in the form of Jaden McDaniels and Julius Randle. Additionally, Ayo Dosumnu had a technical after trying to support Jaden after another scrum with Jonas Valančiūnas.
• An avalanche occurred in the third quarter, and everyone on the Wolves just kind of broke. Emotionally, competitively, basketball-y. They just fell apart. This does not look like a team that could even conceive of winning a fourth and final game this series.

It was certainly bleak. Truly, nothing seemed to fall into place. As I write this, there are still technically ten whole minutes remaining in this game, but that clearly does not matter. Even when the game was stuck teetering on close, the Wolves could not find a way to shrink the lead beyond a non-threatening five points.

There’s no real way to detail it. It was a simple answer. The Wolves did not have the juice tonight. The question is whether that continues to last for the rest of the series.

There was no hero tonight. Ayo Dosumnu was decent, but clearly not his 40-point self. TJ Shannon and Jaylen Clark were injected into the rotation with hopes of adding any energy, a call to action they failed to respond to. Bones Hyland made some shots but failed to mitigate the problems he was causing as a defender.

Unfortunately, no one played well. No one inspired enough confidence to bring some positivity to this conversation.

The most disappointing Wolf, however, has to be Julius Randle. While the question of him as the quote-unquote “best player” is disingenuous, the supposed number two was outplayed by Spencer Jones, had some less-than-ideal defensive effort, and had five turnovers.

When the Wolves managed to pull the deficit back down to single digits with just around four minutes left in the fourth quarter, it was a Randle live-ball turnover that led Denver back to a 15-point cushion.

The most infuriating losses are often like this. The second you start feeling hopeless, hope finds a way. Whenever that whispering voice of hope returns, the game finds a way to crush it to dust once again.

Excited that the game is close at intermission? Have fun with the aforementioned Spencer Jones. Getting fired up at a series of Julius Randle bully ball? Here’s a Christian Braun 3-pointer and a series of bad turnovers to put the game back out of reach.

Tonight was, in that way, a combination of bad luck, bad situation, and bad performance.

For Minnesota to avoid an embarrassing but understandable collapse, they need to do a lot of simple things better. Before garbage time, the Wolves had a baffling 24 turnovers. That is, apparently, the highest rate of giveaways the Wolves have had all season.

To follow that up, there needs to be a better emphasis on attacking the rim the way they did all series. Nikola Jokić is not a decent enough defender to prevent that level of targeting. As part of that, the more uncomfortable Jokič is on defense, the less flow the entire team has on offense.

Lastly, someone needs to step up. This is the least substantive of the thoughts. It’s just gotta be someone. Something has to happen.

Asking anything of this team feels like a lot, though. So much of the last two deep playoff runs have been defined by the magic of Anthony Edwards. Even before Minnesota had won a playoff series for the first time since Kevin Garnett, it was Ant that put that fear into these same Nuggets in the playoffs.

This time, it can’t be him. The last time there was a huge playoff hero that wasn’t Ant was Karl-Anthony Towns taking down — guess who — the Denver Nuggets in Game 7. It clearly won’t be him either.

If you’re wondering who can step up for the Wolves, the options really come down to Ayo Dosumnu and Julius Randle. It will likely have to be both of them to give the Wolves a puncher’s chance on a night like tonight.

Goodnight Wolves fans. I wish I had better news.

Up Next

The series heads back to Target Center for a pivotal Game 6 on Thursday. With a win, the Timberwolves will secure a first-round playoff series victory in their third consecutive season. If they lose, a dreaded Game 7 back in Denver.

The time and TV network for the game will depend on the outcome of Tuesday’s game between the Portland Trail Blazers and San Antonio Spurs. If the Spurs win and finish out the series, the Wolves-Nuggets game will begin at 8:30 PM CT. If the Trail Blazers force a Game 6, then the game will be at 8:00 PM CT.

Highlights