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Celtics clinch playoff spot for 10th straight NBA season

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Updated4 hours ago on April 27, 2024

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Boston Celtics clinch playoff spot for 10th straight NBA season

The Boston Celtics clinched a playoff spot for the 10th straight NBA season and became the first team this season to secure a playoff berth, as their 127-112 win over the Phoenix Suns improved their overall record to a league-best 52-14.

With the Philadelphia 76ers losing 114-105 to the Milwaukee Bucks, the Celtics are now ahead of the second-seeded Bucks by 9 1/2 games and hold a 16-game lead over the seventh-seeded Sixers.

According to multiple NBA betting sites, the Celtics remain the front-runner to win the championship. Sportsbooks are still showing great odds for the Denver Nuggets and Bucks.


Jaylen Brown scored 37 points and Jayson Tatum added 26 in Thursday night’s victory. Boston led by as many as 20 points. The Celtics improved to 10-2 in the second game of back-to-backs as well.

“They’re the best in the league at it,” Suns coach Frank Vogel said. “It’s tough to guard. You talk about all the ways you try to limit it. We did the best we can with it. But we didn’t do enough tonight.”

Boston Celtics are on pace for the franchise’s first 60-win season since finishing 62-20 in 2008-09

The All-Star duo of Tatum and Brown combined for 43 of the Celtics’ 65 first-half points. Boston went on to outscore Phoenix 37-25 in the third quarter and shoot 25-of-50 (50%) from 3-point range.

“I feel like some of the things you said about me last year you can’t say about me this year,” Brown said. “We’re all in this together. … [Celtics coach] Joe [Mazzulla] sets the tone, and we’ve been very well coached.”

The Celtics have been at the top of the Eastern Conference standings for the past several months, tied with the 2015-16 Spurs for the fourth-best net rating in NBA history at 11.3.


“We just came off a long road trip, this could’ve been a game where we came out sluggish, but we came out with the right mentality – to take care of business,” Brown added.

Boston is currently on pace for the franchise’s first 60-win season since finishing 62-20 in 2008-09. The Celtics improved to 30-3 at home, 28-13 against teams above .500, and won 15 of their last 17 games.

Through their first 66 games last season, the C’s were 45-21. Going from 45 wins to 52 is a seven-game improvement. Boston is also 31-4 in 10-point games and 24-1 against below-.500 opponents.

Come playoff time, at least the C’s will be battle-tested in the East.

The Celtics visit the Washington Wizards on Sunday.