Celtics 144, 76ers 106: Boston rolls in a preseason rout at TD Garden
Payton Pritchard and Jayson Tatum led a lopsided win over a shorthanded Philadelphia team that shot 4 of 21 from three.
Boston beat Philadelphia 144-106 at TD Garden on Saturday night in the first of two preseason meetings between the teams. It was the Celtics' second exhibition win, after beating Cleveland earlier in the week.
Who scored
Payton Pritchard led Boston with 25 points, including five three-pointers on eight attempts, plus seven assists, according to the Boston Sports Journal. Jayson Tatum added 23 points on 9-of-19 shooting, and Hugo Gonzalez scored 17 on 6-of-7 from the field. Sam Hauser had 11 points. Paul George, playing his first game for Boston since being traded, shot 3 of 10 for 13 points but finished with five steals, five rebounds and four assists, per NBC Sports Philadelphia.
For Philadelphia, rookie VJ Edgecombe scored 19 with four assists and four steals. Jabari Walker had 14 points and six rebounds, and Labaron Philon Jr. added 14 points and seven assists.
Why it got away from Philadelphia
The Sixers actually started well: Edgecombe scored a reverse and-one and hit a three to help build an 8-0 lead while Boston missed its first seven shots, NBC Sports Philadelphia reported. It did not last. Philadelphia committed 13 turnovers in the first half, and Boston's lead grew past 20 before halftime. Boston Sports Journal credited second-quarter defensive pressure from George and Hauser for forcing those turnovers.
Philadelphia was also short-handed, with Joel Embiid, Adem Bona and several others unavailable, and its interior depth was exposed. Walker, playing centre, picked up three fouls in his first 10 minutes, and Dean Wade took over there against Mitchell Robinson and Neemias Queta. The Sixers shot 4 of 21 from three-point range. They also followed a 21-turnover game against Brooklyn with another sloppy night.
What it means
Preseason results carry little weight, and both sides were experimenting. For Boston, the useful signals are the ball pressure that created easy offence and scoring spread from role players such as Gonzalez and Hauser alongside Tatum. For Philadelphia, now 1-2 in the preseason, the worry is depth at backup centre and ball security, issues that will not fix themselves when the games count.
The teams meet again in Philadelphia next Friday in the Sixers' preseason finale.