Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 26 points and Jayson Tatum added 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 123-91 victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.
Sam Hauser made 4 of 6 attempts from 3-point range and added 12 points for second-seeded Boston, which never trailed in the game.
“One, we have to have an understanding of, I thought we got off to a good start in the series,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “And two, it really doesn’t matter anymore because in 48 hours we have to do it again, and we have to expect a better version of both our opponent and ourselves.”
“The strength of our team is we have a bunch of different ways we can play. Everybody has to be ready. … We had some guys make big plays throughout.”
Seventh-seeded Philadelphia received 21 points with eight assists from Tyrese Maxey and 17 from Paul George. VJ Edgecombe scored 13 and Kelly Oubre Jr. finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.
The 76ers shot 38.9% from the floor, including 4 of 23 (17.4%) from 3-point territory. No Philadelphia player made more than one 3-pointer.
“It was one of those games where I thought we did a pretty good job of shot creation, you just can’t live with not making them,” said Sixers head coach Nick Nurse. “I thought we shied away from taking some 3-pointers.
Philadelphia also committed 15 turnovers, which helped Boston hold a 22-3 edge in points off turnovers.
“A lot went wrong, that’s for sure,” Nurse said. “It kind of started right from the beginning. The first quarter was moving past us pretty quick, and we just didn’t do enough on either end to settle into the game. We didn’t execute very well at the defensive end and put ourselves in a hole.”
Boston center Neemias Queta was in foul trouble for much of the game but scored 13 points in 15 minutes of playing time.
Boston had an early double-digit lead after a Tatum jumper ended an 11-1 spurt that put the Celtics up 17-7. Philadelphia was 6 of 21 (28.6%) from the field — 1 of 9 from 3-point range — in the opening quarter and trailed 33-18 after the opening 12 minutes.
“I thought our fans were great, helped us get off to a good start,” said Mazzulla. “Playoff basketball obviously means more and it’s different in Boston, which we appreciate.”
The Celtics stretched their lead to 23 points in the second quarter and held a 64-46 halftime lead. Tatum scored 21 of his 25 points in the opening half.
“Defensively, I thought (Tatum) was really good,” said Mazzulla of the six-time All-Star. “Rebounding was great. Offensively, just gave the game what it needs.”
After the 76ers trimmed their deficit to 15 midway through the third, Boston went on a 10-0 to extend its lead 83-58. The Celtics led by as many as 26 later in the quarter and had a 95-71 advantage entering the fourth. Brown scored 16 of his 26 points in the third.
The Celtics held a 107-75 lead following a Payton Pritchard layup with 9:03 to play. Boston led by as many as 35 later in the fourth.
Game 2 in the series will be Tuesday night in Boston.
“They need to let this one go,” Nurse said of the Sixers. (REUTERS)
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