The Boston Celtics entered this season with hopes of ending the NBA’s six-season drought without a repeat champion.

Celtics star Jayson Tatum won’t be far from Madison Square Garden when Boston faces a must-win situation against the New York Knicks on Friday night as the defending champions attempt to force a deciding Game 7.

The Boston Celtics and Oklahoma City Thunder looked very much like the dominant teams they were during the regular season in securing lopsided first-round playoff series wins.

Celtics forward Jayson Tatum has been listed as doubtful with a bone bruise in his right wrist for Game 2 of Boston’s Eastern Conference first-round series against the Orlando Magic.

Payton Pritchard scored 34 points and the Boston Celtics swept consecutive home games against the Charlotte Hornets with a 93-86 victory despite blowing a 21-point first-half lead in a regular-season ending matchup of all reserves.

The Boston Celtics broke the NBA record for 3-pointers in a season Friday night against the Phoenix Suns.

Tyler Herro had 25 points and nine assists and the Miami Heat extended their season-best winning streak to six games with a 124-103 victory over the Boston Celtics.

The best road trip in Boston history has given the Celtics a chance at grabbing a piece of NBA history.

Sam Hauser started in place of Jayson Tatum and did what he and the Boston Celtics have done all season — shoot a bunch of 3-pointers and make more than their share.

Jayson Tatum scored 13 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and the Boston Celtics rallied from a 26-point deficit to beat the Philadelphia 76ers 118-110.

Amen Thompson hit a game-winning floater with 0.7 seconds left and finished with 33 points to lead the Houston Rockets to a 114-112 victory over the Boston Celtics.

Jaylen Brown had 28 points with nine assists and Kristaps Porzingis added 26 points and nine rebounds to lead the Boston Celtics to their ninth victory in 10 games, a 130-120 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.

Donovan Mitchell scored 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter as the Cleveland Cavaliers ended Boston’s seven-game winning streak with a 115-111 victory over the Celtics in the second intense matchup between the Eastern Conference’s top teams this season.

The Celtics picked the most inopportune time to play their worst game of the season.

Al Horford has never been this close to winning an NBA championship.

Jaylen Brown and Derrick White each scored 25 points and the Boston Celtics advanced to the Eastern Conference semifinals, beating the short-handed Miami Heat 118-84 in Game 5 on Wednesday night.

After the Boston Celtics beat the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night, the focus of the NBA’s best team quickly turned to something else: watching Caitlin Clark and the final minutes of Iowa’s victory over LSU in the Elite Eight of the women’s NCAA Tournament.

Jayson Tatum had 30 points and 12 rebounds in less than three quarters and the Boston Celtics used a blistering start to pull away from the Indiana Pacers, winning 155-104 on Wednesday night to remain unbeaten.

Derrick White scored 23 points to help a shorthanded Boston team hold off Ja Morant and the Memphis Grizzlies 119-109.

Jaylen Brown scored 22 points to lead a balanced Boston attack and the East-leading Celtics stretched their winning streak to eight with a 126-101 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.

Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 42 points and made the go-ahead basket with 44.3 seconds left and the Milwaukee Bucks withstood a frantic flurry of shots in the final seconds to beat the Boston Celtics 103-101 on Saturday in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinal.

Joel Embiid scored 17 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter, hitting three jumpers in the final minutes and three free throws in the last four seconds to ice it as the Philadelphia 76ers beat the Boston Celtics 108-103.

Playing in its first NCAA tournament game since winning the national championship in 2019, Virginia leads Ohio at halftime of a first round game in the West region, 28-27. Sam Hauser, Trey Murphy and Kihei Clark each have six points to lead the way so far for the Cavaliers.

-Virginia has advanced to the ACC Tournament semifinals in six of the last seven ACC tournaments and for the 26th time overall. 1 seed for the ACC Tournament for the sixth time in school history and fifth under head coach Tony Bennett (2014-2015-2018-2019-2021). - The Cavaliers are 43-63 all-time in the ACC Tournament and 18-24 in Greensboro, including the 2014 tournament title. - Boeheim has averaged 22 points in five career ACC Tournament games, scoring at least 15 points in each. - The Orange slipped to 4-6 in the ACC Tournament and to 2-3 in games played in Greensboro.

Virginia's Sam Hauser, right, drives to the basket during the second half as the Louisville Cardinals took on the Virginia Cavaliers at the KFC Yum! Center in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday. March 6, 2021LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Sam Hauser scored 24 points, Trey Murphy III added 17 and No. 21 Virginia beat Louisville 68-58 to claim the ACC regular season championship. 2 seed entering the regular season finale, the Cavaliers received a huge opening for bigger things when first-place and No.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sam Hauser scored 18 points and No. 21 Virginia ended a three-game skid by handing Miami its sixth loss in a row, 62-51. Trey Murphy III added 12 points for the 16-6 Cavaliers, who took command with a 14-2 run to end the first half. It was very important and as we talked about Justin (McKoy), even “Papi” Francisco (Caffaro) gave us a good lift. Hopefully we can keep that.”Miami closed within six points several times after halftime, but each time Virginia kept the Hurricanes from getting closer.

NC State made 15 of its last 17 free-throw attempts. The Wolfpack led 17-4 after nine minutes, but Virginia used a 13-4 run to close within 25-21 two minutes before halftime. But N.C. State steadied itself, getting four points each from Manny Bates and Moore and a 3-pointer from Braxton Beverly as it scored 12 of the next 14 points. N.C. State hit 9 of its first 13 shots in opening a 21-10 lead, but made just 3 of 12 the rest of the half. POLL IMPLICATIONSThe Wolfpack is surging and Virginia is headed in the opposite direction and struggling, but this loss won’t look as bad on paper because of the way N.C. State has played of late.

The program’s official Twitter account posted Monday that the Tar Heels are seeking a home game for this week. 18 Virginia Tech was postponed, the third Atlantic Coast Conference home game called off for the program. ___Vanderbilt says a limited number of students from its senior class can attend the men’s basketball home game Wednesday with Kentucky. ___The Atlantic Coast Conference announced Monday that Clemson's men's basketball game at Notre Dame scheduled for Wednesday has been postponed due to COVID-19 issues. AdThe conference says in a release that the postponement follows a positive test, subsequent quarantining, and contact tracing within the Clemson men’s program.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Jay Huff had 18 points and 12 rebounds and No. 9 Virginia took control early and beat North Carolina for the seventh consecutive time 60-48. Sam Hauser added 17 points for 15-3 Virginia and Trey Murphy III had 12 as the ACC-leading Cavaliers won their fourth in a row. The Cavaliers led 21-4 midway through the first half as the Tar Heels missed 13 of their first 15 shots. Luckily we were able to stop that for the most part,” said Cavaliers center Jay Huff.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sam Hauser scored 10 of his 23 points during a key second-half stretch, and No. 14 Virginia pulled away from Pittsburgh for a 73-65 victory. Hauser, Jay Huff and Tomas Woldetensae all hit back-to-back 3-pointers in a 23-9 surge that turned a 36-all game into a 59-45 lead for the Cavaliers. Woldetensae had 14 points and Huff finished with 13 points and eight rebounds. Also credit to Pittsburgh’s scrap and their ability to put pressure on the rim but we hung in there and certainly grateful for the victory,” said Virginia head coach Tony Bennett.

Virginia's Sam Hauser (10) shoots as N.C. State's Dereon Seabron (1) defends during the first half of N.C. State’s game against Virginia at PNC Arena in Raleigh, N.C., Wednesday, February 3, 2021. RALEIGH, N.C. – Sam Hauser and Trey Murphy III each scored 18 points and No. 14 Virginia produced a strong finishing stretch to beat North Carolina State 64-57. Jericole Hellems poured in 23 points before fouling out for N.C. State, which won just one game in January. Virginia endured an eight-minute span without a field goal in the second half but Huff and Hauser ignited the Cavaliers’ offense down the stretch.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Sam Hauser hit seven of Virginia’s 14 3-pointers and the No. 8 Cavaliers cruised to an 81-58 victory against Syracuse. Hauser hit five 3s before halftime as Virginia took a 41-26 lead into the locker room. Virginia’s Jay Huff added a career-high 21 points to go along with 12 rebounds. “I liked our movement and how we shared the ball,” said Virginia head coach Tony Bennett.

13 Virginia survived a scare before rallying to beat Georgia Tech 64-62. Kihei Clark scored only two points for 10-2 Virginia, but they came on a short jumper with 1:09 left that broke a 62-all tie. They’re really good at playing with great confidence, they play fast and they’re quick. What I saw down the stretch is, I thought our on-ball defense really stepped up. They played really good defense, but I think we could get some of what we wanted.

CLEMSON, S.C. – Sam Hauser and Tomas Woldetensae had 14 points and four 3-pointers apiece as No. 18 Virginia won its 11th straight over 12th-ranked Clemson with an 85-50 victory. The Cavaliers moved to 5-0 in the Atlantic Coast Conference, their best start to league play since opening 12-0 in 2017-18. Virginia won its fifth straight since losing to No. “We’re learning about our team, we’re growing, we’re becoming steadier,” said Virginia head coach Tony Bennett.

Charlottesville, Va. – Jay Huff scored 18 points and Sam Hauser had 15 points and nine rebounds as No. 18 Virginia beat Notre Dame 80-68 for its fourth consecutive victory. The 7-foot-1 Huff made a career-best four 3-pointers - all in the first half - as the 8-2 Cavaliers opened an 18-10 lead and built it to 37-25 by halftime. Cormac Ryan scored 16 and Trey Wertz 13 for the 3-8 Fighting Irish, who lost their fourth in a row. They are 0-11 against Virginia in ACC play.

Obviously, we didn’t have a lot of numbers in the rotation, but we played tough enough in the second half. We responded well to adversity and being shorthanded and, you know, a very good second half. I think he’s, he’s quiet by nature but he does stuff. At first we weren’t really pressuring the ball and then in the second half we really started pressuring the ball. You know Coach [Jason] Williford, Coach [Brad] Soderberg, Coach “O” [Orlando Vandross], Coach [Kyle] Getter and Coach [Larry] Mangino.

23 Virginia continued its dominance over Notre Dame with a 66-57 victory Wednesday night. Jay Huff scored 15 points for Virginia, and Sam Hauser added 13 points and 10 rebounds. I think there’s just some good offensive plays,” said Virginia head coach Tony Bennett. I thought we made enough good offensive plays, took advantage and then enough key stops. But enough good plays defensively and offensively.

15 Virginia thought they had the game won in regulation, but after Kent State missed three 3-point attempts and kept rebounding the ball, Danny Pippen swished a 3 at the buzzer, forcing overtime. ADVERTISEMENTThat effort was key after Kent State shot 55.6% in the second half. Mike Nuga scored 20 points, Pippen had 13 and Justyn Hamilton had 12 for Kent State (1-1). They were playing their second game after their opener against Purdue Fort Wayne was postponed. UP NEXTThe Golden Flashes play at Detroit Mercy next Wednesday night.

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. – Virginia’s Sam Hauser (Stevens Point, Wis.) was one of 50 players named to the watch list for the 2021 John Wooden Award presented by Wendy’s announced Tuesday (Dec. 1). The players on the list are considered strong candidates for the 2021 John R. Wooden Award Men’s Player of the Year presented by Wendy’s. Players not chosen to the preseason list are still eligible for the Wooden Award™ midseason list, late season list, and the National Ballot. The Wooden Award All American Team™ will be announced the week of the “Elite Eight” round of the NCAA Tournament. The winner of the 2021 John R. Wooden Award will be presented by Wendy’s following the NCAA Tournament in April.

15 Virginia rebounded from a stunning loss to San Francisco with a 76-51 victory over Saint Francis (Pa.). Kadin Shedrick had 12 points and eight rebounds for the Cavaliers, who won their 24th consecutive home opener. Sam Hauser added 11 points and Trey Murphy had 10. Bryce Laskey led the Red Flash with 12 points and Mark Flagg had 11. Virginia put this one away quickly, opening a 21-4 lead before the game was eight minutes old.