Queta has been a revelation for the Celtics this season and helped them improbably surge into second place in the Eastern Conference. But it is unlikely he or his team envisioned nights like Sunday, when he crafted the best game of his career to propel Boston to a 114-98 win over the 76ers at TD Garden, its 11th in 13 games.
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The 26-year-old center finished with 27 points and 17 rebounds and received ‘MVP’ chants several times in the fourth quarter.
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“I thought he’s had great ownership and responsibility to what it calls for to be a starting center for the Celtics, and he’s got to continue to get better,” Mazzulla said. “He works at it. He cares. So, it’s a credit to him.”
The Celtics, who entered the night averaging 17.1 second-chance points per game, poured in 30 Sunday, with Queta leading the charge. With 76ers center Andre Drummond often playing up and trying to congest the lanes for Boston’s talented ballhandlers, Queta forcefully and quickly found space around the rim.
“We just gave him the ball and trusted him to make the right decision every time, and he was able to get it going,” forward Jaylen Brown said. “He had some nice up-and-unders in the seam and stuff like that that helped propel us to a win.”
Brown added 27 points, 8 rebounds, and 8 assists for Boston.
Tyrese Maxey had 33 points to lead the 76ers, but they did not come easily. The All-Star guard played 43 minutes and made just 12 of 34 shots. Philadelphia was without star center Joel Embiid (oblique).
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“He didn’t have a ton of layups, didn’t have a ton of free throws,” Mazzulla said of Maxey. “I thought he obviously missed some good shots, but when you have the ball as much as he did, I thought we did a really good job just being disciplined, defending without fouling, keeping him out of transition.”
The Celtics improved to 40-20, with just 22 games remaining in the regular season. After the game, there was a visible reminder of what could be on the way.
Star forward Jayson Tatum, who could be nearing a return from last May’s Achilles injury, sat at his locker and laughed and joked with team staffers. He also posted the latest clip from the NBC docuseries about his comeback on his social media accounts.
Jayson Tatum, who has yet to play this season, liked what he saw from the Celtics bench.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
For now, of course, the Celtics continue to plow forward without him. On Sunday, Boston quickly wiped away an early 10-point deficit behind Queta. He registered five offensive rebounds in the opening period, and flashed an unusual amount of offensive creativity during his dominant second quarter.
During one stretch, he danced through the lane for a basket, converted a putback, then dazzled the crowd by trailing a fast break, taking a pass from Brown, and converting an acrobatic scoop shot that gave Boston a 40-35 lead.
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“We don’t want him to get too carried away with some of those,” Brown said, smiling. “But he was converting them tonight and it looked good.”
Queta reminded everyone that much of his value comes from his defensive work when he swatted a Kelly Oubre Jr. shot out of bounds, and he received a rare standing ovation when he checked out moments later.
Neemias Queta’s performance put a smile on Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla.Danielle Parhizkaran/Globe Staff
Finally, after a well-executed two-for-one opportunity, Brown found Baylor Scheierman, who played with a splint on his broken left thumb, in the right corner; he hit a buzzer-beating 3-pointer that gave Boston a 62-50 lead at the break. Scheierman gave a high thumbs-up with his bandaged digit.
The Celtics led by 16 early in the third quarter, but the 76ers continued to push back. Three-pointers in the final minute by Quentin Grimes and Maxey made it 89-83 at the start of the fourth.
The 76ers trailed by 6 with four minutes left in the fourth quarter but missed their next five shots, any one of which could have put real pressure on Boston.
With 2:56 left, Queta converted a layup as he was fouled, stretching the lead back to 105-97. He received ‘MVP’ chants for the second time in the quarter when he went to the foul line. Then, with 1:56 left, he put an exclamation point on his memorable night by grabbing yet another offensive rebound and throwing down a two-handed dunk that made it 109-98.
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“I thought Neemi matched and exceeded the [76ers] physicality,” Mazzulla said.
Jaylen Brown has become the leader of the Celtics while Tatum has been away. Will Tatum returning cause locker-room drama?
Adam Himmelsbach can be reached at adam.himmelsbach@globe.com. Follow him @adamhimmelsbach.
An inbound stretch of Storrow Drive and Soldiers Field Road will be closed each night through August for tunnel repairs, officials announced.
Starting Monday, the closures will begin at 8 p.m. and last until 5 a.m., state officials said.
Road closures begin at North Harvard Street in Allston and stretch along the Charles River Esplanade to Mugar Way in Boston, near the Hatch Memorial Shell, officials said.
Traffic will be detoured into Cambridge over the Anderson Bridge, along Memorial Drive, and then be routed into Boston over the Longfellow Bridge.
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The closures will allow ongoing repairs to the Storrow Drive Tunnel in the Back Bay.The work is the first phase of a two-stage project to extend the lifespan of the tunnel, which carries roughly 50,000 drivers to and from downtown Boston daily.
The outbound portion of the tunnel and accompanying roadways will not be affected.
State transportation officials said changes to the work schedule will be made when necessary to minimize impacts during major local events at TD Garden, Fenway Park, or during the FIFA World Cup and 250th anniversary celebrations scheduled for this summer.
Additional changes may be made without notice due to weather.
Transportation officials have not specified when the closures will end.
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Bryan Hecht can be reached at bryan.hecht@globe.com. Follow him on Instagram @bhechtjournalism.
OXFORD — Ole Miss softball is back in the NCAA Tournament after making the Women’s College World Series a season ago.
The Rebels (34-24) will play Boston (46-13) on May 15 (1 p.m. CT, ESPNU) in the Lubbock Regional. Ole Miss is the No. 2 seed in the regional, and Boston is the No. 3.
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Texas Tech (52-6), the No. 11 overall seed and regional host, will face No. 4 Marist (37-19).
The Rebels went 6-18 in SEC play this season, and have a largely new-look roster from the team that made the WCWS last season.
Ole Miss beat South Carolina and Tennessee in the SEC Tournament to improve its seed.
Freshman Madi George has burst onto the scene in the SEC. The first-year infielder leads Ole Miss with a .385 batting average. She has a team-high 21 home runs and 58 RBIs.
Seniors Emilee Boyer (3.86 ERA), Kyra Aycock (3.97 ERA) and junior Lily Whitten (3.04 ERA) are the primary options in the circle for coach Jamie Trachsel.
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Trachsel is in her sixth season leading the Ole Miss program. She led the Rebels to their first WCWS appearance in program history in 2025.
What to know about Boston, Texas Tech and Marist in Lubbock Regional
Boston entered the Patriot League Tournament as the top seed and the Terriers delivered. Boston beat No. 2 Colgate 12-1, becoming the second team in Patriot League history to four-peat as conference champions. Boston is on a 12-game winning streak. Kylie Doherty leads the team with a .396 batting average and 26 home runs.
Texas Tech made the 2025 WCWS championship series, losing to Texas in three games.
Texas Tech lost just three Big 12 games this season but lost in the first round of the Big 12 Tournament. The Red Raiders are a strong threat to get to the WCWS again. There are four Texas Tech batters hitting over .400. Star pitcher NiJaree Canady leads the Red Raiders with a 1.24 ERA. She has 209 strikeouts.
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Marist plays in the MAAC and won the conference tournament. Marist split a two-game series against South Carolina early in the season. Ava Metzger (12-3, 2.51 ERA) and Peyton Pusey (.404 batting average) lead the team.
Sam Hutchens covers Ole Miss for the Clarion Ledger. Email him at Shutchens@gannett.com or reach him on X at @Sam_Hutchens_
Attendees held umbrellas as The Bends performed at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
Mojo, a music brand and concert organizer, was founded in 2021 by Charley Blacker, Alex Parker, and Emily Donovan while they were students at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The trio of friends decided to create Mojo out of their shared love for music and house shows.
“We saw there were so many local musicians that were so talented, but they didn’t have the platform we thought they really deserved,” Blacker told the Globe during Saturday’s festivities. “So we thought if we could do the behind-the-scenes work of organizing photographers and [provide] a social media platform, we could give these musicians the platform they deserve.”
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Attendees danced as The Bends performed at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
Five years later, the team behind Mojo is sticking to their mission, tackling their biggest venue yet with this weekend’s event at City Hall Plaza, which previously served as the original location for Boston Calling before it moved to the Harvard Athletic Complex in Allston. Boston Calling announced last year that it is taking a one-year hiatus in 2026, with plans to return in 2027.
In addition to getting the chance to work on such a big event with his best friends, Blacker hopes Mojo Boston can help “lead to a lot more opportunities for local music.”
People browsed food vendors at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
There was a wide range of genres represented at Saturday’s event, from the pop-rock stylings of The Bends to house and garage music from DJ AC Slater. Prior to the Boston debut, Mojo brought a festival to Pennsylvania’s Happy Valley in April and returned to Amherst later that month to host another event.
Mojo Boston attendees and former UMass Amherst students Emily Bowler and Max Debeau have been familiar with Mojo since its inception, watching the organization go from hosting basement shows to full scale music festivals. Debeau noted how many of the acts at Saturday’s event have worked with Mojo in the past, performing at UMass and other shows around the Bay State.
“To see it all come together has been great,” Debeau said. “This is the stage that they all deserve.”
“It’s crazy how quickly they were able to erect something so amazing,” Bowler added.
Amanda Giroux danced away from the stage while The Bends performed at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
Formed in New Bedford, the band Autumn Drive was one of 18 acts that performed at Mojo Boston, and they are no strangers to a Mojo show.
“We’ve done, I think, every single Mojo that there is, so we’re very tight with them,” said guitarist and singer Charlie Gamache. “When we found out they were doing a big festival [in Boston], I was like, ‘We want in no matter what.’”
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The band emphasized how much their relationship with Mojo has meant to them over the years, with Autumn Drive drummer Joe Gauvin praising the organization for “always putting us in front of a crowd that’s there to see music and hear us.”
Michael Asulin, of Stoughton, and Jackie Ludicke, of Miami, Fla., talked while wearing ponchos at Mojo Boston on Saturday.Andrew Burke-Stevenson/for The Boston Globe
From a makeshift stage out of wooden pallets in his basement to Boston’s City Hall Plaza, Blacker is is proud of Mojo’s success and is already looking ahead at what’s to come.
“This is really just the start of it all,” said Blacker. “We have very lofty ambitions and goals, and we have nothing but confidence in our ability to accomplish everything we set out to do.”
Gitana Savage can be reached at gitana.savage@globe.com. Follow her on X @gitana_savage.
