Celtics take 1-0 lead vs Sixers
Injuries not a problem as Celtics trip Sixers for 1-0 start to East semis
BOSTON— The Boston Celtics bucked the absence of its top guns in a 117-101 win over the Philadelphia 76ers in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal showdown on Monday night. Terry Rozier, Jayson Tatum and Al Horford combined for 83 points as the Celtics took a 1-0 lead in the best-ofseven series. The Celtics, who earlier lost Gordon Hayward and Kyrie Irving, was also without Jaylen Brown.
It didn’t matter to the Boston Celtics who couldn’t suit up. What mattered most were the guys who could. “We got together yesterday and we had a plan. No matter who it is out there, we’re going to play hard and take care of business,” said guard Terry Rozier. It wasn’t all talk. With youngsters Rozier and rookie Jayson Tatum and veteran Al Horford taking charge, the Boston Celtics creamed the Philadelphia 76ers, 117-101, Monday night in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal showdown.
The trio combined for 83 points. Rozier scored a career-playoff-high 29 points and added eight rebounds and six assists. Tatum had a personal-playoff-best 28 points, and Horford tied his career playoff scoring mark with 26 as the Celtics took a 1-0 lead in the best-ofseven series.
“My confidence is everything,” Rozier told TNT after besting by three points his prior career playoff high set Saturday in Game 7 against the Milwaukee Bucks. “My teammates believe in me, my coaches believe in me, so you know I just want to keep it going.”
The youngsters certainly more than made up for the players who couldn’t suit up. After losing star acquisition Gordon Hayward on opening night, the Celtics were also without Kyrie Irving. On Monday, Jaylen Brown, the team’s second best scorer in the postseason (17.9 points per game), was scratched due to a strained hamstring.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens also praised Horford, telling NBA.com, “I feel like he’s really locked in. He’s done a good job of knowing when to roll and post and play an interior spot, and then knowing when to pop and space.”
Joel Embiid had 31 points, 13 rebounds and five assists for Philadelphia. JJ Redick scored 20, and Ben Simmons totaled 18 points, seven boards and six assists with seven turnovers for the 76ers, who took just their second loss since March 13. Philadelphia eliminated the Miami Heat in five games in the first round of the playoffs.
Game 2 is Thursday night in Boston.
The Celtics made 17 of 35 3point attempts (48.6 percent), while the Sixers sank just 5 of 26 shots from long range (19.2 percent).
“It starts on defense,” Embi- id said. “I thought I was (lousy). I thought we were all bad tonight. That’s not who we are, definitely. I think when everybody’s on, we’re the best defensive team in the game. There’s a lot of stuff that we game-planned that we didn’t execute.”
Philadelphia coach Brett Brown added, “I thought this was one of our poorer defensive games. I think to look at this game, defensively, offensively, this isn’t who we are.”