The rivalry is renewed.
After the Celtics’ 112-96 win in Game 7 over the Bucks Saturday night, the Sixers will face their old nemesis in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Game 1 will be Monday at 8 p.m.
As the No. 2 seed, Boston will have home-court advantage. The Celtics beat the Bucks by winning all four games at TD Garden and were 27-14 at home and 28-13 on the road during the regular season. The Sixers are 32-12 at home and 24-19 on the road, including the playoffs. They won Games 3 and 4 of their first-round series in Miami.
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The Sixers went 1-3 in the regular season against the Celtics, although Boston had Kyrie Irving for three of those matchups. Irving is out for the postseason with a left patella tendon injury. The teams last faced off on Jan. 18, with the Sixers winning, 89-80. Since that game, the Sixers have a 35-11 record.
Even without Irving, the Celtics have numerous offensive weapons. Five players averaged in double figures in points against the Bucks, including second-year forward Jaylen Brown and No. 3 overall pick Jayson Tatum.
But the Celtics’ strength is on the defensive end. Their 101.5 regular-season defensive rating was best in the NBA.
In preparing for either the Celtics or the Bucks, the Sixers were expecting a tough, physical matchup regardless (see story).
NBA
“No matter who we play, it’s going to be an extremely physical game,” Brett Brown said Friday. “I think that both of those two teams are elite defensively. You can see how they guard each other and how hard it is to score. It’s going to be a very, I think, defensive-oriented series no matter who we play.”
The last time the Sixers were in the postseason, the Celtics knocked them out, as they fell in seven games in the 2012 Eastern Conference semifinals. In total, the teams have matched up in the playoffs 20 times, with the Celtics winning 12 of those series, and each of the last three.
Here’s the full schedule for the series:
Game 1: Monday, April 30, at Boston — 8 p.m.
Game 2: Thursday, May 3, at Boston, 8:30 p.m.
Game 3: Saturday, May 5, at Philadelphia, 5 p.m
Game 4: Monday, May 7, at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.
*Game 5: Wednesday, May 9, at Boston, TBD
*Game 6: Friday, May 11 at Philadelphia, TBD
*Game 7: Sunday, May 13 at Boston, TBD
*if necessary