BOSTON — “We want Boston.”

The mock chants rained down from the TD Garden crowd late in Game 1 of the Celtics’ first-round playoff series, as they built a lead as large as 35 points in a 123-91 victory. Bostonians were poking fun at a Philadelphia crowd that, nights earlier, had chanted, “We want Boston,” when their 76ers beat the Orlando Magic in the play-in tournament, setting up a best-of-seven set between the Atlantic Division rivals.

“I heard it,” said the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum. Everyone heard it.

Do the Sixers want the Celtics? It didn’t look like they did in the series opener. Their coach, Nick Nurse, called his team’s effort “unacceptable.” His 76ers have too many holes defensively and not enough to exploit on the other end of the court. Boston is the more complete team. In fact, the Celtics may be the East’s most complete team.

The question, then: Does anyone want Boston?

The West isn’t concerned with the East. The Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets have too much to worry about in their own conference. Whoever survives that gauntlet is going to feel just fine about their Finals matchup.

But in the East, where the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers all enter the playoffs with question marks, the Celtics offered their answer in Game 1. Nobody watched them just smother the 76ers and thought, Yeah, we want Boston.

After all, Tatum looked like the Jayson Tatum of old, compiling 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the opening quarter alone. He finished with a 25-11-7 on 9-for-17 shooting, with two steals, and barely took the floor in the fourth quarter. Even teammates can forget he is only 48 weeks removed from Achilles surgery.

“It’s pretty nuts how far he’s come and how fast he’s gotten back,” said Celtics wing Sam Hauser, who added 12 points. “It just shows how determined and committed he was to his rehab and wanting to get back, and the belief he had in us — the chance we have to hopefully make a deep run — so it’s pretty impressive what he’s doing.”

Jaylen Brown, who made a surprising All-NBA First Team case during the regular season, backed it up in the playoff opener. He posted a 26-4-3, with two steals of his own, in 30 minutes, and turned Paul George into a nonfactor for much of the night.

There were questions about the rest of the Celtics, too. Not just about Tatum’s health or Brown’s emergence. Could what worked for them in the regular season — replacing erstwhile All-Stars Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford with a collective that isn’t as talented but competes like hell — translate to the playoffs?

Well, the Celtics rolled out a regular rotation, 10 deep, even before things got out of hand against the 76ers, and got contributions from everyone. Hauser, Derrick White, Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard, Nikola Vučević, Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza, Baylor Scheierman, all of them found positive ways into the box score before garbage time.

“We play our rotation,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. “We play our guys. It’s what we’ve done the entire year, and it’s what we’ll continue to do. … We just need them ready to make plays. We did that tonight, and we have to continue to do that.”

It was not like this last season. The Celtics were a top-heavy bunch that depended on talent, relying on the six guys who carried them to the 2024 NBA championship. And they were worn out. Porziņģis couldn’t stay healthy. Holiday was working on a hobbled hamstring. Horford was pushing 40 years old. And Tatum’s Achilles gave out.

They got beat in the second round of the 2025 playoffs by a harder-playing Knicks team. They let their foot off the gas and blew a pair of 20-point leads in Games 1 and 2 to New York and never recovered. It feels like they learned from that loss, and they took it out on Philadelphia, because Game 1 was certainly a mismatch in competition.

And the Celtics aren’t satisfied with a 32-point victory.

“We’ve been the harder-playing team all year,” said Brown. “That can’t change now that the playoffs have started. It’s just honing in on the details and winning the fight.”

Granted, this was one win against the 76ers, who are without one-time MVP Joel Embiid. But in it was a statement: Tatum’s Celtics took their first step back toward a third Finals in five years, and they put their foot on the gas. These Celtics will not be outplayed. They may be outscored at some point. But they will not be outplayed.

And nobody wants that.

BOSTON — “We want Boston.”

The mock chants rained down from the TD Garden crowd late in Game 1 of the Celtics’ first-round playoff series, as they built a lead as large as 35 points in a 123-91 victory. Bostonians were poking fun at a Philadelphia crowd that, nights earlier, had chanted, “We want Boston,” when their 76ers beat the Orlando Magic in the play-in tournament, setting up a best-of-seven set between the Atlantic Division rivals.

“I heard it,” said the Celtics’ Jayson Tatum. Everyone heard it.

Do the Sixers want the Celtics? It didn’t look like they did in the series opener. Their coach, Nick Nurse, called his team’s effort “unacceptable.” His 76ers have too many holes defensively and not enough to exploit on the other end of the court. Boston is the more complete team. In fact, the Celtics may be the East’s most complete team.

The question, then: Does anyone want Boston?

The West isn’t concerned with the East. The Oklahoma City Thunder, San Antonio Spurs and Denver Nuggets have too much to worry about in their own conference. Whoever survives that gauntlet is going to feel just fine about their Finals matchup.

But in the East, where the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Cleveland Cavaliers all enter the playoffs with question marks, the Celtics offered their answer in Game 1. Nobody watched them just smother the 76ers and thought, Yeah, we want Boston.

After all, Tatum looked like the Jayson Tatum of old, compiling 10 points, 7 rebounds and 4 assists in the opening quarter alone. He finished with a 25-11-7 on 9-for-17 shooting, with two steals, and barely took the floor in the fourth quarter. Even teammates can forget he is only 48 weeks removed from Achilles surgery.

“It’s pretty nuts how far he’s come and how fast he’s gotten back,” said Celtics wing Sam Hauser, who added 12 points. “It just shows how determined and committed he was to his rehab and wanting to get back, and the belief he had in us — the chance we have to hopefully make a deep run — so it’s pretty impressive what he’s doing.”

Jaylen Brown, who made a surprising All-NBA First Team case during the regular season, backed it up in the playoff opener. He posted a 26-4-3, with two steals of his own, in 30 minutes, and turned Paul George into a nonfactor for much of the night.

There were questions about the rest of the Celtics, too. Not just about Tatum’s health or Brown’s emergence. Could what worked for them in the regular season — replacing erstwhile All-Stars Kristaps Porziņģis, Jrue Holiday and Al Horford with a collective that isn’t as talented but competes like hell — translate to the playoffs?

Well, the Celtics rolled out a regular rotation, 10 deep, even before things got out of hand against the 76ers, and got contributions from everyone. Hauser, Derrick White, Neemias Queta, Payton Pritchard, Nikola Vučević, Jordan Walsh, Luka Garza, Baylor Scheierman, all of them found positive ways into the box score before garbage time.

“We play our rotation,” said Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla. “We play our guys. It’s what we’ve done the entire year, and it’s what we’ll continue to do. … We just need them ready to make plays. We did that tonight, and we have to continue to do that.”

It was not like this last season. The Celtics were a top-heavy bunch that depended on talent, relying on the six guys who carried them to the 2024 NBA championship. And they were worn out. Porziņģis couldn’t stay healthy. Holiday was working on a hobbled hamstring. Horford was pushing 40 years old. And Tatum’s Achilles gave out.

They got beat in the second round of the 2025 playoffs by a harder-playing Knicks team. They let their foot off the gas and blew a pair of 20-point leads in Games 1 and 2 to New York and never recovered. It feels like they learned from that loss, and they took it out on Philadelphia, because Game 1 was certainly a mismatch in competition.

And the Celtics aren’t satisfied with a 32-point victory.

“We’ve been the harder-playing team all year,” said Brown. “That can’t change now that the playoffs have started. It’s just honing in on the details and winning the fight.”

Granted, this was one win against the 76ers, who are without one-time MVP Joel Embiid. But in it was a statement: Tatum’s Celtics took their first step back toward a third Finals in five years, and they put their foot on the gas. These Celtics will not be outplayed. They may be outscored at some point. But they will not be outplayed.

And nobody wants that.

Jayson Tatum Praises 76ers After Celtics’ Strong Game 1 Showing originally appeared on NESN.
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The Celtics cruised to a convincing 123-91 victory over the 76ers in Game 1 of the playoffs on Sunday. However, despite the ease of the win, Boston star forward Jayson Tatum isn’t underestimating Philadelphia.

“They’re not really like a traditional 7th seed,” Tatum said of the 76ers on Sunday, via Celtics on CLNS. “They’re really really talented team, great coaching staff…Nick Nurse is a championship coach. “You have to show them that respect.”

Tatum is right about the 76ers being a not-your-typical No. 7 seed, since they have one of the league’s best guards in Tyrese Maxey and a dominant center in Joel Embiid, who, when healthy, is among the top players in the league.

The main concern is that Embiid struggles to stay healthy, and he wasn’t on the court Sunday because he had to undergo surgery on April 9 to have his appendix removed.

There’s a strong possibility that Embiid won’t play in this series, and if he doesn’t return within the next week, it’s likely the series will be over, as the Celtics are the clear favorites and a superior team.

The Celtics will tip off Game 2 on Tuesday at 7 p.m. ET, live from the TD Garden.

More NBA: Jaylen Brown Reacts To Celtics’ Dominant Game 1 Playoff Victory

Austin Hedges had been waiting for the right moment. So, after he helped the Cleveland Guardians to an 8-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon, he went for it. 

Hedges, who scored the first run of the game for the Guardians on Sunday at Progressive Field, proposed to girlfriend Lexi Dickinson on the field after the contest. She quickly said yes.

“I’ve had the ring since early spring training, but was just trying to figure out when the right time was,” Hedges said, via The Associated Press. “I was going to do it regardless, but I really wanted to win that game to make it extra special.”

Hedges and Dickinson first started dating in November 2024. 

“I had a lot of nerves today,” he said. “I’m always nervous for baseball games, but just trying to stay present, knowing there were some activities after made it harder. It was a special day. A special day to be able to soak it all in.”

Hedges is in his third season back with the Guardians. The catcher signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the franchise this past offseason. Hedges, who got his MLB start with the San Diego Padres in 2015, also spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers, where he won a World Series title in 2023.

Hedges holds a .250 batting average with two RBI in nine games this season. He scored in the third inning Sunday after Steven Kwan hit a sacrifice fly to put Cleveland on the board first. 

The win pushed Cleveland to 13-10 this season. The Guardians are 8-0 when Hedges has started behind the plate.

Austin Hedges had been waiting for the right moment. So, after he helped the Cleveland Guardians to an 8-4 win over the Baltimore Orioles on Sunday afternoon, he went for it. 

Hedges, who scored the first run of the game for the Guardians on Sunday at Progressive Field, proposed to girlfriend Lexi Dickinson on the field after the contest. She quickly said yes.

“I’ve had the ring since early spring training, but was just trying to figure out when the right time was,” Hedges said, via The Associated Press. “I was going to do it regardless, but I really wanted to win that game to make it extra special.”

Hedges and Dickinson first started dating in November 2024. 

“I had a lot of nerves today,” he said. “I’m always nervous for baseball games, but just trying to stay present, knowing there were some activities after made it harder. It was a special day. A special day to be able to soak it all in.”

Hedges is in his third season back with the Guardians. The catcher signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the franchise this past offseason. Hedges, who got his MLB start with the San Diego Padres in 2015, also spent time with the Pittsburgh Pirates and Texas Rangers, where he won a World Series title in 2023.

Hedges holds a .250 batting average with two RBI in nine games this season. He scored in the third inning Sunday after Steven Kwan hit a sacrifice fly to put Cleveland on the board first. 

The win pushed Cleveland to 13-10 this season. The Guardians are 8-0 when Hedges has started behind the plate.

Bryan Woo came to the ballpark seemingly on a mission today: to make the Rangers’ day miserable. So far this season, despite some solid performances, Woo has failed to notch a win, with three no-decisions and two losses. Today, he stepped on the hill, and, one inning aside, he looked as sharp as he has all season. While Woo certainly has the ability to flex his power, show off with a 97 mph fastball right at the numbers, today was all about keeping everyone off balance and dominating with soft contact, jam shots, and precision control. After the game, Dan Wilson commented on Woo’s mindset today:

“I think from pitch one you could see a little more determination on his face today, and wanting to really go out this afternoon and give us a good ballgame.”

Woo echoed much of the same sentiment:

“Being in the zone consistently, throughout the game, and not fishing for punchouts, just consistency in the zone and executing. And if they’re punchouts, if they’re quick outs, whatever they are, just take them as they come.”

The mindset showed as Woo used his fastballs to extreme effectiveness today, keeping the Rangers off balance and using his sinker to elicit weak contact and befuddled swings. Woo did an excellent job of keeping the ball in the infield as well, bringing about six ground balls and three infield fly balls to go against two hits from the Rangers today. Woo was near perfect in preventing free passes as well, issuing his only walk of the game to Corey Seager in the 7th inning (thanks partially to a savvy challenge from Mitch Garver in the first that flipped Seager’s first at-bat around from a 3-0 to a 2-1 count and eventual popout). Otherwise, Woo was playing in the zone all day, keeping hitters honest and tallying six strikeouts along the way.

The Rangers began to figure Woo out around the third time through the order, as a poorly timed walk to Seager to lead off the seventh, followed by a single Wyatt Langford and an HBP to Joc Pederson, loaded the bases. Josh Jung nearly got a hold of one but drove it out to the wall for a sacrifice fly as Seager ran in to score. A double from Evan Carter would bring home Langford and give the Rangers two runs off of Woo. Josh Smith would end the inning with a soft grounder to second, but the damage had been done, and Woo’s day came to a close at 7 innings pitched, 2 ER, 1 walk, and 6 Ks.

Despite the strong six innings, Woo struggled to hide his frustration with his difficulties in the 7th. But he remained calm, limited the damage, and finished the inning. Even so, Woo was very critical of the free pass and the HBP, expressing so after the game:

“The leadoff walk, number one. Hitting Joc, stupid. But it’s just the concept of keeping teams down when they’re down, not giving them any life, not letting them have any momentum, not letting them breathe in any way, just keeping our foot on the gas. You give up the two there and then it’s like, the at-bats for Gabe the next inning are just more stressful. And there’s no need for that if I just do my job. Yeah. I’m still beating myself up over it. It’s just little things like that. It’s like, if they were to hit their way through that inning it’s one thing, but for me to give them free passes, that’s another thing.”

Despite the negative self-talk, it seems to me that Woo is as locked in as he’s ever been, consistently focused on improving and not letting small mistakes eat at him too much:

“I give myself tonight to be pissed, and then once I wake up tomorrow, it’s a new day, and we get on it again…I try to take the positive and analyze the negative. So yeah. Six good and one bad. Try to weigh it in that way too, proportionally, like, don’t be too hard on yourself but take the good and learn from the bad, and it is what it is. Yeah, I hold high standards for myself but there’s a balance there too of not being too hard on yourself.”

The Mariners’ offense also put on a mighty display today to follow up on their strong performance from last night. Rob Refsnyder got the scoring started today with his first hit as a Mariner, a lead-off homerun off the first pitch of the day from MacKenzie Gore. Having just returned from paternity leave, it seems dad power is back on the menu!

Refsnyder spoke after the game on his struggles getting started here in Seattle:

“I feel thankful for my teammates, trying to help me through. I don’t think you ever want to slump, especially early in the year, new team, new city, so I’ve definitely been hard on myself, but I’ve had a lot of help. Our mental coach, Bern [Adam Bernero] has helped me a lot…And especially as a platoon guy, it kind of stinks because you have a couple of days to sit on it, too. But the most frustrating thing is that we feel like we’re playing decent baseball, just the results as a whole haven’t been exactly where we want it to be, but it’s a good group, and we honestly believe in each other. Hopefully this series we can kind of build on that.”

Refsnyder has had a difficult start to the season but remains committed to taking advantage of the opportunities and expressed thanks for the fan support he has received so far despite his cold start:

“I really appreciate, there’s been some fans out in early batting practice, even today in the outfield, who have been really supportive. That helps. Honestly, I’m human, so we hear a lot of things. So just to have the fan support, it meant a lot, it’s pretty cool. I’ve played in some places where you get booed at home and things like that, and it definitely wears on you…[The fans said] just supportive things like you got it, we believe in you, keep going, just nice stuff like that. And it means a lot when you’re going through it, wondering who knows if I’m ever going to get another hit. So just to have that support, honestly, it genuinely meant a lot. It was nice.”

Hopefully, today marks a turnaround moment for the journeyman outfielder and the spark for a successful run for him here in Seattle.

The Mariners wouldn’t end the scoring there, putting on a show of strength and power today in front of the hometown fans. In the second, a leadoff walk for Mitch Garver set up JP Crawford for a two-run home run of his own.

With the swing, Crawford became the first player to get a hit off of Gore’s curveball all year and the second lefty in the league with two career homeruns off of Gore (Michael Harris II being the other).

Randy Arozarena followed that up with a two-run homer of his own in the 5th. A Julio Rodriguez single put him on first and in a 0-2 count against the curveball Randy hit it off the left field foul pole to put the Mariners up 5-0.

The Mariners were relentless against Gore today in a way they have not been before. In the previous three games in which the Mariners faced Gore over 18 innings, they scored 1 run, struck out 25 times, and walked 3 times, a record that certainly suggests today’s game should have gone differently. Today, however, the Mariners sparked Gore for 5 runs on 7 hits over 5 innings today, a marked improvement from previous outings. On top of that, as I mentioned earlier, coming into this start, Gore had not given up a hit all year on his curveball. 4 of the Mariners’ 8 hits came on Gore’s curveball, and two of those were home runs. Whatever change was made in the clubhouse, the Mariners have finally managed to get to a guy who has seemingly had their number over the last year or so.

Muñoz came in and shut the door in typical fashion in the 9th to put the bow on one of the most complete Mariners games I’ve seen so far this season. The Mariners have struggled in various areas so far this season – the bullpen not showing up, the starter struggling through the first 5 innings, or the offense doing their best impression of a ghost – but today the Mariners really put it all together. All the ingredients were there: a dominant start from Woo, who went on a solid run, run support from the top of the order, and the bullpen came in and shut down the game without incident. Hopefully, this is a sign that the Mariners are turning it around and maintaining the strong performances we are used to seeing from last year. There is another division-winning team here; it remains to be seen if that team can show up consistently.

The Cleveland Cavaliers took care of business in Game 1 against the Toronto Raptors. They kept Toronto from getting out in transition, forced them to play in the half-court, and then were able to out-execute them there on both sides of the court.

The Raptors desperately missed Immanuel Quickley in Game 1, who was out with a hamstring injury. His three-point shooting and quickness in the open court were things the team could’ve used. Toronto head coach Darko Rajaković mentioned before Saturday’s game that he was getting better even though he wasn’t able to go on Saturday. Quickly is once again questionable for Game 2.

The Cavs, meanwhile, have a clean injury report for the second game in a row. Thomas Bryant is the only player unavailable. He will be missing the game with a hamstring injury.

We’ll see if the Cavaliers can repeat Saturday’s success in Game 2 and grab a 2-0 series lead.

Who: Cleveland Cavaliers (1-0) vs. Toronto Raptors (0-1)

Where: Rocket Arena – Cleveland, OH

When: Mon., April 20 at 7 PM

TV: Peacock, NBC Sports Network

Point spread: Cavs -8.5

Cavs injury report: Thomas Bryant – OUT (calf)

Raptors injury report: Immanuel Quickley – QUESTIONABLE (hamstring)

Cavs expectedstarting lineup: James Harden, Donovan Mitchell, Dean Wade, Evan Mobley, Jarrett Allen

Raptors expected starting lineup: Jamal Shead, RJ Barrett, Brandon Ingram, Scottie Barnes, Jakob Poeltl

Previous matchup: The Cavs grabbed a 1-0 lead with a 126-113 victory.

Here’s a look at both teams’ regular-season impact stats via Cleaning the Glass.

The first weekend of the 2026 NBA playoffs has wrapped up, with each first-round series having one game completed.

And, thus far, every higher seed has taken care of home-court advantage, but the playoffs are a long haul and series can change on an instant.

This may be disappointing to the rest of the league, but arguably no team was as impressive as the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder, who dominated in their postseason opener.

So what, exactly, can be gleaned from the early games of the playoffs? Plenty.

Here are the winners and losers from the first weekend of the 2026 NBA playoffs:

WINNERS

Jayson Tatum

What he’s doing, 11 months removed from a torn Achilles, is nothing short of spectacular. Tatum shined in his return to the playoffs, posting an all-around efficient game of 25 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists. His day would’ve been even better had he not shot 1-of-7 from 3-point range, but Boston looked every part of a legitimate threat in the East in its commanding win Sunday over Sixers.

Knicks defensive versatility

Speaking of contenders in the East, the Knicks sent a message Saturday against an upstart Hawks squad that can generate offense from different sources. New York harassed the Hawks, deploying Josh Hart on Jalen Johnson, which allowed OG Anunoby and Mikal Bridges to fly around the perimeter and smother other weapons. Even Karl-Anthony Towns made his presence felt with a team-high 3 blocks.

The Nuggets-Timberwolves series

This is, by far, the gem of the round. They’re frequent opponents, having met in three of the last four playoffs. These are fierce, competitive teams that don’t like each other. And these teams are fairly evenly matched. The play was physical, chippy and compelling, and there’s no shortage of star power. The rest of the series should be fascinating.

Donovan Mitchell is on a mission

Although he has put up statistically impressive performances in the postseason, Donovan Mitchell often draws criticism because his teams have never gotten past the second round. Mitchell appears determined to erase that narrative; in Game 1 on Saturday, Mitchell dropped 32 points and 4 assists on the Raptors. He, James Harden and backup guard Max Strus combined to shoot 12-of-20 (60%) from beyond the arc.

So are the Oklahoma City Thunder

The defending champions looked hungry, efficient and cohesive in a 35-point blowout victory over the Suns. The defense, unsurprisingly, was oppressive, holding Phoenix to just 34.9% shooting. That, plus the 17 turnovers Oklahoma City forced, opened the path for easier transition points, with the Thunder taking an 18-2 edge on fastbreak points.

LOSERS

Lower seeds

The first round of the playoffs tends to produce expected results, and this year has been no exception. Through the Thunder-Suns game, higher seeds are a combined 6-0, and the games, in many cases, have been lopsided. The combined average margin of victory so far has been 18.5 points.

The Houston Rockets

Yes, Kevin Durant was out. But their opponent, the Lakers, was missing Luka Dončić (hamstring) and Austin Reaves (oblique), the highest-scoring duo in the NBA this season. And, yet, the Rockets, a team that tied for fifth in defensive rating (112.1), allowed the Lakers to shoot 60.6% from the field, including 52.6% from 3-point range. Houston let Luke Kennard, a solid, role-playing shooter, hit all five of his 3-pointers for a playoff career-high of 27 points.

Arguably more disappointing was Houston’s lack of offensive cohesion. Often, players appeared to be ball watching and waiting for iso opportunities. The problem, however, was that the Rockets shot just 37.6% from the floor.

The 76ers without Joel Embiid

It’s clear that Philadelphia is going to struggle without its big man. Embiid (appendectomy) finished the regular season strongly, generating 28.6 points per game over his last five games played. The issue, as it has been with Embiid, is that he has been so infrequently available.

Against the impressive defense that the Celtics bring, there’s simply no way the 76ers can compete without Embiid. According to ESPN, Embiid hasn’t even started basketball activities for his return and may miss the entire first round. The Sixers, almost certainly, will be eliminated at that point, anyway.

Zaccharie Risacher and Dyson Daniels

Risacher, the 2025 No. 1 overall selection, played just 2:29 on Saturday against the Knicks and missed badly on his three shot attempts, two of which were point blank. Though he played far more, Daniels, similarly, forced difficult shots and couldn’t settle into a rhythm. The pair combined to go 2-of-10 for 4 points, though Daniels did dish out 11 assists and haul in 9 rebounds.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: NBA playoffs: Who shined and who struggled early?