The Eastern Conference series tips off Saturday in Boston
The Boston Celtics will officially begin their postseason journey Saturday when they host the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the teams’ first-round NBA playoff series.
The C’s will host the first two games of the Eastern Conference matchup at TD Garden before the best-of-seven series shifts to State Farm Arena in Atlanta for Games 3 and 4. Games 5 through 7, if necessary, will alternate, with Boston hosting Games 5 and 7 and Atlanta hosting Game 6.
Here’s the full schedule for the series:
Game 1: Hawks at Celtics — Saturday, April 15, 3:30 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Boston/ESPN)
Game 2: Hawks at Celtics — Tuesday, April 18, 7 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Boston/NBATV)
Game 3: Celtics at Hawks — Friday, April 21, 7 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Boston/ESPN)
Game 4: Celtics at Hawks — Sunday, April 23, 7 p.m. ET (NBC Sports Boston/TNT)
Game 5*: Hawks at Celtics — Tuesday, April 25, TBD (TBD)
Game 6*: Celtics at Hawks — Thursday, April 27, TBD (TBD)
Game 7*: Hawks at Celtics — Saturday, April 29, TBD (TBD)
*if necessary
The Celtics enter the playoffs as the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference, behind only the top-seeded Milwaukee Bucks. The Hawks, meanwhile, secured their date with Boston by defeating the Miami Heat in a play-in game Tuesday night to lock down the No. 7 seed.
Boston, which posted a 57-25 record during the 2022-23 regular season under first-year head coach Joe Mazzulla, advanced to the NBA Finals last season, ultimately falling to the Golden State Warriors in six games. It’s now championship or bust for the C’s as Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown and company look to leave their marks on Boston’s illustrious franchise history by raising banner No. 18.