The Boston Celtics will strive to build on a dominant playoff-opening rout of Philadelphia when they host the 76ers for Game 2 on Tuesday.
The Celtics, the Eastern Conference’s second seed, pounced on Philadelphia in Sunday’s Game 1 matchup behind the star tandem of Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.
Brown scored 26 points on 11-of-21 shooting from the floor, while Tatum — playing in just his 17th overall game since returning last month from a ruptured Achilles’ tendon — finished with 25 points on 9-of-17 shooting, grabbed 11 rebounds and dished seven assists.
“Just the opportunity to play again here (in Boston) in the playoffs is special,” Tatum said. “It’s something I’ll never take for granted.”
Tatum and his Celtics capitalized on their first opportunity in front of the Boston faithful immediately, building an 18-point lead by halftime.
The Celtics held the Sixers to just 35-of-90 field-goal shooting (38.9%) and a woeful 4-of-23 from 3-point distance (17.4%), showing off the same defensive prowess they exhibited in the regular season.
Boston went into the playoffs allowing a league-low 107.2 points per game while holding opponents to 44.2% shooting from the floor, second-lowest in the NBA.
While Game 1 was a defensive masterclass from the Celtics, Tatum said they cannot let up against a potentially prolific Philadelphia side in Game 2.
“They have some really talented scorers over there, especially with (Tyrese) Maxey and (Paul) George,” he said. “Kelly (Oubre Jr.) rained five (3-pointers) in the play-in game (vs. Orlando on April 15).”
Maxey, who earned an All-Star nomination during his 28.3-point-per-game regular season, finished with a team-high 21 points Sunday. George added 17, but no other Sixer managed more than rookie VJ Edgecombe’s 13 points.
“I don’t think we matched physicality (or) toughness,” George said. “There was just no resistance at a lot of times throughout the game. That’s just not playoff basketball.
“We want to come out and play better,” he added. “It is disappointing … but it’s one game. We’ve got a series, and we’ve got a chance to play them again Tuesday. Let’s sweep this under the rug and try to learn from it.”
Philadelphia will continue to seek interior offensive contributions as the Sixers adjust to playing without former Most Valuable Player Joel Embiid.
The big man Embiid underwent an emergency appendectomy while on a road trip in Texas during the final week of the regular season. His status for the series against Boston is undetermined as of Monday.
Embiid averaged 26.9 points per game during the regular season. His fill-ins at center on Sunday — the youngster Adem Bona and veteran Andre Drummond — scored three and two points, respectively.
Philadelphia coach Nick Nurse noted that early foul trouble for both Bona and Drummond contributed to the team’s tone-setting slow start. Nurse also said perimeter scoring threats Maxey and Edgecombe need to let this one go.
“A lot of the shots they were taking, we like a lot of those,” he said. “Both had some pull-ups in the (mid)-range that they’re going to hit most of the time.”
