The Celtics beat the New Orleans Pelicans on Friday night, officially wrapping up the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.
The Boston Celtics defeated the New Orleans Pelicans 144-118 on Friday night at TD Garden in the penultimate game of the regular season.
With the win, the Celtics officially secured the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, meaning they are free to handle Sunday's regular season finale against Orlando in any way that they want.
Here's what you need to know
--Because he's still not cleared to play back-to-back games, Jayson Tatum didn't play. However, Jaylen Brown did, scoring 23 points on 8-of-13 shooting.
--Sam Hauser actually led the way in scoring with 24 points, hitting eight three-pointers, while Payton Pritchard had 21.
--Nikola Vucevic and Luka Garza each had 14 points. It was certainly important for Vucevic to gain some rhythm, as he's played just three games since breaking his finger on March 6.
--The Celtics hit a whopping 29 three-pointers in the victory, holding the Pelicans to just nine.
--Derrick White didn't have a block, meaning he has just one game left to make some incredible NBA history.
Boston Celtics forward Sam Hauser (30) and center Neemias Queta (88) celebrate during the second half against the New Orleans Pelicans at TD Garden. Winslow Townson-Imagn ImagesAbout the playoff picture
As the No. 2 seed, the Celtics will play the No. 7 seed in the first round.
Reminder: Seeds 7 and 8 are decided by the NBA's 'play-in tournament.'
The way that works is as follows:
The team who finishes No. 7 in the East will play the team who finishes No. 8. The winner of that game earns the No. 7 seed.
Then, the teams that finish No. 9 and No. 10 will play each other. The winner of that game faces the loser of the first game, with the winner earning the No. 8 seed.
About the Celtics' possible opponents:
The Magic are currently in the seventh-position at 45-36 while the Philadelphia 76ers are in the No. 8 spot at 44-37.
The Charlotte Hornets, 43-38, are locked into No. 9 while the Miami Heat (42-39) are locked into No. 10. That matchup will take place in Charlotte.
The Toronto Raptors are currently in sixth place, but they could fall to seventh, meaning that the Celtics could play any of Toronto, Orlando or Philadelphia.
Other need to knows
Pritchard earned the Red Auerbach Award before the game for demonstrating most what it means to be a Celtic. It's a far cry from a few years ago, when Pritchard wanted to be traded because of his lack of playing time.
He's delivered the best year of his career this season, scoring 17 ppg.
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