BOSTON — Brad Stevens says he hasn’t heard his players discussing their chances of making the NBA playoffs.
However, it is indeed time to recognize that the rebuilding Boston Celtics are in a race for the postseason.
“They haven’t talked about it around me,” the Boston coach said of his players after the Celtics cruised to a 108-89 victory over the hapless Philadelphia 76ers on Monday night. “They might when I’m not there.
“I think the guys just want to play better basketball, and we’re playing better basketball.”
They certainly are.
The Celtics got a career-high 26 points from center Tyler Zeller, never trailed and led by as many as 27 in winning their fifth straight, their seventh in the past eight.
By winning, the Celtics finished the night in a three-way tie with the Indiana Pacers and Miami Heat for the last two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference, all at 30-36. Technically, Boston is ninth via tiebreaker, the record in the conference.
“We never thought we didn’t have a chance to make the playoffs, and now we’re right there,” said Celtics guard Avery Bradley, who had another big night with 20 points, 10 rebounds and six assists.
Boston earned its fourth consecutive home win and its ninth in the past 10 at TD Garden.
Zeller, coming off a strong game in Saturday night’s win at Indiana, was great right from the start Monday, going 11-for-15 from the floor and scoring from both inside and out.
“I don’t know. I mean, the shots fell down,” Zeller said. “Jump shot felt really good, and then they kept leaving me open, so I just kept shooting it.”
As for the playoff hunt, Zeller said, “It’s a lot of fun. The whole year we’ve been changing. I think Danny (Ainge, the team president) has done a great job of putting together the team that we’ve got.”
The Celtics go on the road to play the Oklahoma City Thunder on Wednesday and the San Antonio Spurs on Friday, two games they shouldn’t win, but they played their fourth straight game without sparkplug guard Isaiah Thomas and are 4-0 in that span.
All five Boston starters (and two subs) scored in double figures.
The Sixers (15-52) dropped their 14th in a row on the road, where they haven’t won since Jan. 9.
The Celtics shot 67 percent in the first quarter, and they led 38-18 after one. The margin increased to 23 points by halftime.
“The game was determined in the first period, and it almost starts and stops there,” Philadelphia coach and South Portland native Brett Brown said. “I didn’t feel like we competed in the first period. I thought that they got whatever they wanted offensively.
“We give them a lot of credit defensively — I think they’ve improved defensively since the last time we played them. They’ve always had that firepower and that ability to score, but you can see a team that feels like they’re right there to slide in the playoffs. We give them credit.”
Sixers rookie center Nerlens Noel, a Boston-area product, finished with a team-high 18 points and seven boards. It was his best effort in three games at the TD Garden, including one preseason contest. Noel came in averaging 12.1 points and 11.8 rebounds over the previous eight games.
Acknowledging he was better on this visit, Noel said, “I think I have to do a little more than that to help my team win these games. I should have brought it on the defensive end. I should have been more assertive. We’re going to take a step back and look at the films and see what we have to do to get defensive stops.”
Philadelphia guard Ish Smith came off the bench to score 16 points, and forward Hollis Thompson added 13 points.
NOTES: Thomas missed his fourth consecutive game with a lower-back bruise, and he will not accompany the team on a two-game road trip to Oklahoma City and San Antonio. That means his earliest return is Sunday. According to Stevens, trainer Ed Lacerte said Thomas has one of the worst bruises he has seen. “Nobody wants to play more than (Thomas),” Stevens said. “That’s what I appreciate about him.” … Noel came in averaging 1.79 steals and 1.89 blocks per game, and he finished with two steals and one block Monday. The only rookie ever with more than 1.50 in both categories at the end of the season was David Robinson. … The Sixers host the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday night.