Boston Celtics
76ers fans said they wanted Boston. Celtics fans mocked them loudly.
Jaylen Brown dunks a basketball at TD Garden Photo by: Barry Chin/Globe Staff
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During the closing minutes of the 76ers play-in game victory against Orlando that set up this series against the Celtics, fans at Philadelphia’s Xfinity Mobile Arena started a “We want Boston” chant.
The Celtics have the most championships in NBA history, they’ve made two of the last four NBA Finals, and their most recent win came in 2024.
This opening round series between Boston and Philadelphia is the 23rd playoff meeting between the two clubs, which is an NBA record. The Celtics eliminated the 76ers in the semifinals in 2023, which was the last time Philadelphia made it past the first round.
With the Celtics holding the No. 2 seed in the East, Philly fans knew that their road in these playoffs had to go through Boston, so they said so.
On Sunday night, Boston responded. With the game out of reach late in the fourth quarter, fans at TD Garden began chanting “We want Boston”, mocking the comments from the Philadelphia fans.
“I didn’t really think anything of it,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “It’s just part of – there’s a history to the series, which I can appreciate. At the same time, we have to focus on the task at hand and the most important things are the stuff that we can control.
“I thought our fans were great tonight, helped us get off to a good start. Playoff basketball obviously means more. It’s different in Boston. You move on and it’s [about] how can we get better?”
It has been 44 years since the 76ers last beat the Celtics in a playoff series during the 1982 Eastern Conference Finals.
The Celtics lead this current series 1-0 after claiming a 121-93 victory in Game 1 Sunday night. Game 2 is set for Tuesday night at 7 p.m. at TD Garden.
Khari A. Thompson
Khari Thompson covers professional sports for Boston.com. Before joining the team in 2022, Khari covered college football for The Clarion Ledger in Jackson, Miss.
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