Scheduled
Washington Wizards at Indiana Pacers
2026-27 · Regular season
Interactive: 9-2 and first in the East — how the Celtics built a share of the NBA’s best point differential before halftime, step by step
Boston is plus-129 through 11 games, tied with San Antonio for the league’s best margin, and plus-124 of it has come before halftime. The quarter-by-quarter split, Tatum and George, the three-point gap and the 14-0 run in Philadelphia.
In this article
Jayson Tatum and Tyrese Maxey in Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 2026. Photo by Boston Celtics, resized.Interactive · Boston Celtics
9-2 and first in the East: how the Celtics built a share of the NBA’s best point differential before halftime, step by step
Boston is plus-129 through 11 games, tied with San Antonio for the league’s best margin. Almost all of it comes in the first half: plus-124 before the break, plus-4 after it.
Duncan Robinson at the line during Detroit’s 23-0 run against Boston, Oct. 20, 2026. Still from NBA video on X, resized.Chapter 1
A blown lead in Detroit
The first season after the trade that sent Jaylen Brown to Philadelphia opened with a warning. On Oct. 20 in Detroit, the Celtics led by 13 at halftime. The Pistons outscored them 76-55 after the break, including a 23-0 run, and won 121-113.
Paul George scored 38 in his Boston debut. Jayson Tatum made 6 of 23 shots.
0Boston’s halftime lead on opening night
0-0Detroit run
0George points in his debut
0 of 23Tatum shooting that night
The Celtics bench during the 117-97 win in Milwaukee, Nov. 8, 2026. Still from Boston Celtics video on X, resized.Chapter 2
Eleven games
Since then Boston has lost once, 109-93 in Houston on Nov. 3, a night George did not play. It has won the last four by 7, 39, 20 and 22.
- Lost 121-113 at Detroit.
- Beat New York 107-103 as Tatum scored 36.
- Beat Chicago 134-99.
- Beat Brooklyn 125-124 in overtime on Tatum’s buzzer-beater.
- Beat Chicago 125-111.
- Won 108-97 at Orlando.
- Lost 109-93 at Houston.
- Beat Milwaukee 109-102.
- Won 119-80 at Charlotte, the largest margin of the season.
- Won 117-97 at Milwaukee.
- Won 123-101 at Philadelphia.
Margin in each win
Paul George in Milwaukee, Nov. 8, 2026. Photo by Boston Celtics, resized.Chapter 3
Built before halftime
Boston has outscored opponents by 66 points in first quarters and 58 in second quarters. After halftime the edge almost disappears: plus-18 in third quarters, minus-14 in fourth quarters and plus-1 in its one overtime.
The Celtics have led at the half in nine of 11 games. Twice they gave most of it back: a 29-point halftime cushion against Chicago on Oct. 30 ended as a 14-point win, and a 21-point lead over Milwaukee on Nov. 5 finished at seven.
Celtics point margin by quarter, 11 games
+0first-half margin
+0second-half margin in regulation
0 of 11games led at halftime
0points in the first quarter at Chicago, Oct. 30
Jayson Tatum during his 40-point night against Brooklyn, Oct. 27, 2026. Still from NBA video on X, resized.Chapter 4
Tatum and George
Tatum, in his first full season back from a torn Achilles tendon, is averaging 26.5 points, 7.4 assists and 6.0 rebounds in 10 games. He scored 40 against Brooklyn and won it with an overtime buzzer-beater.
George, the return in the Brown trade, is averaging 22.0 points and has made 37 threes in 10 games at 44.0 percent.
Points per game
“At this point of my career, there’s only one thing that I wanna do and that’s win. … I’m here to help you, I’m in a way here to serve you, make you become the best player that you can become.”— Paul George, on playing next to Jayson Tatum
The Celtics and 76ers at the rim in Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 2026. Photo by Boston Celtics, resized.Chapter 5
The three-point gap
The Celtics make 16.2 threes a game and allow 14.5. They shoot 38.4 percent from deep; opponents shoot 33.5.
Over 11 games that is 178 made threes to 159, a 57-point edge from beyond the arc alone. Boston has also forced 185 turnovers and committed 158.
0Celtics threes per game
0opponent threes per game
0%Celtics three-point shooting
0%opponent three-point shooting
Season totals, 11 games
Paul George in Philadelphia, Nov. 10, 2026. Photo by Boston Celtics, resized.Chapter 6
Philadelphia
Tuesday’s game matched the top two teams in the East and put Brown against his old team for the first time. Boston led by 11 at the half and by nine after three quarters, at 91-82.
Then it scored the first 14 points of the fourth quarter. Payton Pritchard hit two threes, and George scored the next eight. George scored all 14 of his fourth-quarter points in the first six and a half minutes.
- Pritchard step-back three: 94-82.
- Pritchard three: 97-82.
- George three from 25 feet: 100-82.
- George three-point play: 103-82.
- George layup: 105-82, the end of the 14-0 run.
- George’s sixth three: 111-87.
0-11threes, Boston vs. Philadelphia
0George points on 14-of-22 shooting
0Boston’s largest lead
−0Brown plus-minus in 26 minutes
“Credit to Jayson. Credit to the Celtics.”— Jaylen Brown, after scoring 13 points for Philadelphia
Chapter 7
Where Boston stands
At 9-2, Boston sits half a game ahead of Philadelphia at 9-3. It scores 115.7 points a game and allows 104.0, the second-lowest mark in the league behind New York.
The Celtics play at Toronto on Wednesday at 7 p.m. ET, 2 a.m. Thursday in Cairo, then host Dallas on Sunday.
0-2record, first in the East
+0point differential per game, tied for NBA best
0points allowed per game
0straight wins
Eleven games, nine wins and a plus-129 margin. Boston has won almost all of it in the first 24 minutes, and the question for the rest of the season is whether the second halves catch up.
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