Just announced: Philadelphia at Boston Game 5 next Tuesday will be at 7 on ESPN.

After losses by the Celtics and Red Sox, the Bruins' victory allowed the city of Boston to avoid a Tuesday night Splat Trick.

The undefeated-for-life Sultan of Stat puts the Celts' Game 2 loss to Philly in numerically historical perspective.

@dicklipe.bsky.social with the details. ⬇️

There may have been a bigger upset in Boston sports tonight than 76ers over Celtics...

Red Sox batters had fewer K's (4) than Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen.

Nick Nurse said before the game he wanted Tyrese Maxey to be more aggressive looking for his shot.

Apparently DJ Tyrese takes requests -- 13 points on 13 shots as Philly leads Boston, 50-48, with 3:34 left in the first half.

Look away from the ball, and you'll see the NBA's freedom of movement guidelines have largely been relegated to the dustbin of history. ... Like before ABS when umpires would start out each season saying they were going to call the high strike.

After the way the Magic looked in losses last Sunday in Boston and the Wednesday 7-8 play-in game in Philly, raise your hand if you had them going into Detroit and beating the top-seeded Pistons by 11 in Game 1?
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Liar.

The Sultan of Stat isn't running the Marathon, but he's still carbo-loading (17 grams in each pint of beer).

Hell of a guy that he is, Dick Lipe took a break to deliver you this 6-pack of noteage from the Celtics' Game 1 flogging of Philly -- Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown with starring roles.⬇️

Next level trolling at the Garden as Celtic fans chant, "We want Boston," during rout of Sixers.

Scott (The Series Extender) Foster is lead ref for Celtics-Sixers today, so you know what that means...

There's definitely going to be a Game 2.

Whooooo wants a t-shirt? Here's Celtics public address announcer Eddie Palladino letting you know that EVERYONE gets a t-shirt today.

Bruins-Sabres playoff memory... (or why Rick Middleton will always hold a place of honor in my journalistic heart):

NBA fines LaMelo Ball and issues a Flagrant 2 penalty for what he did to Bam Adebayo -- essentially saying Ball should have been ejected from the game 47 seconds into the second quarter. ... Guessing this won't entirely placate Miami.

Schedule for Celtics' first round series vs. winner of Wednesday night's Philadelphia-Orlando game:

Schedule for Celtics' first round series vs. winner of Wednesday night's Philadelphia-Orlando game:

And an additional shoutout to lo-o-o-o-ng-time Pistons press room assistant Steve Stuckey... In addition to being a great help, Stuck has been a cherished friend to many writers over the many years. #RaiseABudLightInHisHonor

The PBWA is pleased to announce the second annual NBA All-Interview Team.

Press release: probasketballwriters.org/wembanyama-a...

With all five starters and four others from high in the rotation out, the Celtics dug deep and got career-high scoring from four bench brothers to beat Orlando's regulars.

How deep? The Sultan of Stat had 8 points. (It's in the advanced metrics... trust us.)

Dick Lipe with the noteage. ⬇️

The full Sunday schedule:

Celtics will open playoffs next Sunday at 1 on ABC vs. winner of Wednesday's Philadelphia-Orlando game.

A tradition unlike any other:
Our annual shoutout to Doc Rivers, who once got himself tossed from a Celtics-Nets game in the Meadowlands so he could go back to the locker room and watch the Masters.

About to add the "and basketball" course to the 🇬🇷 dinner.

(But I can guarantee at least one laptop in the press section will be streaming the Masters.)

Happy Easter 🇬🇷 to my family, friends and all those celebrating with us today. Christos Anesti.

Today's menu includes baklava and basketball...

If the Sultan of Stat is correct in his calculations -- and he's never wrong -- Friday's Celtics-New Orleans game wasn't decided until the final two minutes.

Of the first quarter.

Dick Lipe's noteage on an NBA-record-tying night. ⬇️ (And, hey, Semi Ojeleye makes a cameo.)

If the Sultan of Stat is correct in his calculations -- and he's never wrong -- Friday's Celtics-New Orleans game wasn't decided until the final two minutes.

Of the first quarter.

Dick Lipe's noteage on an NBA-record-tying night. ⬇️ (And, hey, Semi Ojeleye makes a cameo.)

Aaaaaand we have a third Splash Brother.

Neemias Queta drills a 3-pointer... Celtics lead New Orleans by as many 41 in the third quarter...

The NBA needs to consider a mercy rule in the next CBA.

Hell, at some point, the Geneva Conventions have to kick in, right?

Without Jaylen Brown, the Sultan of Stat believes the Celtics showed a lot of heart in New York. But the Knicks had more Hart.

Dick Lipe details how Josh Hart's late heroics kept the C's from clinching the No. 2 seed, despite big nights off the bench from Pritchard and Scheierman. ⬇️

Trust the... procedure.

ESPN has picked up Orlando at Celtics (6 pm ET) and Denver at San Antonio (8:30) this Sunday.