It’s official: the Celtics and the Orlando Magic will face off in the first round of the playoffs, set to begin on Sunday, April 20th.
That’s because the Magic defeated the Atlanta Hawks 120-95 on Tuesday night in a Play-In game match-up between the No. 7 and No. 8 seeds in the Eastern Conference. Thanks to the blowout victory, the Magic won the right to face Boston, while the Hawks will play the winner of the Play-In game between the Miami Heat and Chicago Bulls.
Joe Mazzulla said at practice on Tuesday that the Celtics had assistant coaches scouting both the Hawks and Magic all year — and the team was unsurprisingly prepared for both outcomes.