Celtics-Sixers Game 6 Schedule, TV Network Released

There will be three Game Sixes played on Thursday night, and how those go will influence when the second round starts

Apr 28, 2026; Boston, Massachusetts, USA; Philadelphia 76ers center Joel Embiid (21) exits the court after the game against the Boston Celtics in game five of the first round of the 2026 NBA Playoffs at TD Garden. Mandatory Credit: David Butler II-Imagn Images | David Butler II-Imagn Images

The Philadelphia 76ers forced a Game 6 by beating the Boston Celtics Tuesday night at TD Garden. They are still up 3-2 in the series and have a chance to close things out at the XFinity Mobile Arena. 

This will be one of three Game Sixes played on Thursday night. Here’s the schedule: 

7 p.m. - New York Knicks at Atlanta Hawks (ESPN)
8 p.m. - Celtics at Sixers (NBCSN/Peacock)
9:30 p.m. - Nuggets at Timberwolves (ESPN)

The Knicks lead their series 3-2 after a 126-97 blowout win last night. The Timberwolves are up 3-2, but they have lost Anthony Edwards and Donte DiVincenzo to injury, so that series is up in the air. 

How those other two series go will have an impact on when the Celtics will start their second-round series, presuming they advance. Depending on the results, The next Celtics series could start this weekend or early next week, so winning Thursday night could still get them a little of the rest they squandered if the Hawks or Nuggets win.

Of course, there is work to be done before that. The Celtics fell apart in Game 5 after taking a 13 point lead early in the third quarter and looking like they were in control of the game. 

“I definitely thought we could have played a bit faster,” Jaylen Brown said after the loss. “When they score, take the ball out, get down the court. And just overall, just not good enough tonight. Can’t sum it up where, just a lot of different areas were not good enough. We'll watch it, and we'll make sure that we'll come out – we got to make sure we come out with the right energy, the right mindset, the right mentality on the road in Philadelphia. So that's what I'm looking forward to.”

The loss might be surprising, but history tells us that Celtics blowout wins are typically followed by tough losses. According to NBC Sports Boston’s stats guru Dick Lipe, Boston is 4-11 after postseason wins of 20 points or more since 2022, including six-straight losses  going back to 2024. 

The good news is that these Celtics rarely lose two in a row. They did it against the Knicks last season and the Heat in 2023 (the three-straight losses to start the series). There have also only been 13 successful comebacks from 3-1 deficits in NBA history. The Celtics have accomplished two of those (1968, 1981).