Celtics win Game 1
Tatum’s scoring ruins 76ers night
Jayson Tatum had career playoff highs of 32 points and 13 rebounds, and the Boston Celtics beat the Philadelphia 76ers, 109-101, Monday in Game 1 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series in Lake Buena Vista, Fla.
“Offensively, it doesn’t feel like he’s got 32 at the end of the night,” Celtics coach Brad Stevens said.
“He just plays the game within himself. He did a lot of good things tonight.”
Jaylen Brown scored 15 of his 29 points in the fourth quarter.
“Jaylen Brown in the last period was exceptional,” 76ers coach Brett Brown said.
“It’s true that Jayson Tatum to start was excellent. You have to give them credit for how good they are at creating their own shot.
“I hope that we can do a better job of defending them in some of the schemes that we’re trying to execute.”
Kemba Walker added 19 points for the Celtics.
Joel Embiid had 26 points and 16 rebounds and Josh Richardson and Alec Burks each added 18 points for the 76ers.
Philadelphia nearly pulled off the win without All-Star guard Ben Simmons, who is out indefinitely after left knee surgery.
Other games
Raptors 134, Nets 110: Fred VanVleet scored 30 points and led Toronto’s sizzling 3-point attack as the defending NBA champion opened the playoffs with a win against Brooklyn. VanVleet went 8 of 10 from 3point range and the Raptors shot 22 of 44 from beyond the arc. VanVleet also had 11 assists with only one turnover, becoming the first Raptor in franchise history to combine 30-plus points and 10-plus assists in a playoff game. Serge Ibaka scored 22 points off the bench for the Raptors. Game 2 is Wednesday.
Nuggets 135, Jazz 125: Jamal Murray scored 10 of his 36 points in overtime on a day Donovan Mitchell erupted for a Jazz playoff-record 57 points in Game 1 of a Western Conference playoff series. Nikola Jokic finished with 29 points and 10 rebounds for Denver. Murray took over in the extra period, sealing the victory on a 3pointer with 46.8 seconds remaining. Mitchell’s scoring spree surpassed the Jazz mark of 50 by Karl Malone on April 22, 2000, against Seattle. Game 2 is Wednesday.
Clippers 118, Mavericks 110: Kawhi Leonard Los Angeles had enough answers to withstand Luka Doncic’s dazzling playoffs debut for Dallas — especially after his running mate was thrown out of the game. Doncic finished with 42 points, nine rebounds and seven assists. Leonard had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and the Clippers got a big boost from the ejection of Kristaps Porzingis to beat Dallas in Game 1 of their Western Conference playoff series.
Notes
The NBA’s 2021 All-Star weekend in Indianapolis is unlikely to take place as scheduled, with the league revealing Monday that large blocks of hotel rooms that had been reserved for the event have been released. The next All-Star Game was set for Feb. 14, 2021, though the uncertainty of the NBA schedule because of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has left countless unanswered questions about the 2020-21 season.
• Rajon Rondo joined his teammates at practice for the first time since he broke his right thumb July 12 during the Los Angeles Lakers’ second day of practice for the NBA’s restart to the season.