Boston and San Antonio regain the break, Lakers one step away from the semifinals

Nikola Vučević scored 11 points, six rebounds and four assists in the Celtics' victory (108:100)

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Vucevic (archive), Photo: Reuters

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S. Nj.

25.04.2026. 08:18h

Boston defeated Philadelphia (108:100) away from home, regaining the break and taking a 2:1 lead at the start of the NBA playoffs.

Montenegrin basketball player Nikola Vučević played a good match and scored 11 points (4/10 from the field) in 31 minutes, along with six rebounds and four assists.

Boston led from the start, had a ten-point lead midway through the second quarter (41:31), and went into halftime with a plus seven - 54:47.

The Celtics maintained their lead until the middle of the third quarter, when Philadelphia went on a 12-0 run to take a 67-64 lead. Boston responded, leading by five points after three quarters (79-74) and by seven points in the fourth (92-85).

But Philadelphia didn't give up, and at one point they came within a point of the deficit (97:96). Then Vučević assisted Jayson Tatum, who hit a three-pointer for 100:96. With that three-pointer, Tatum became only the fourth player in the history of the famous franchise with at least 3.000 points in the playoffs. Tatum put an end to the game with another three-pointer, for 106:100, 25 seconds before the end.

Boston's most efficient players were Tatum and Jaylen Brown with 25 points each. On the other side, Tyrese Maxey scored 31 points.

San Antonio also got a break back, as they were better than Portland away - 120:108.

The most efficient player for the Spurs was Stephon Castle with 33 points, while Dylan Harper finished the match with 27 points.

For Portland, Jrue Holiday had 29 points.

And the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Houston in overtime (112:108), taking a 3:0 lead and moving one step closer to the Western Conference semifinals.

Houston had a six-point lead (101:95) with 25,4 seconds left in regulation, and then Marcus Smart hit three free throws first, followed by LeBron James' three-pointer to set up overtime.