Final: Celtics 105, Sixers 87 - Jayson Tatum, bench shine in season-opening win over Philly

BOSTON --  It wasn’t the prettiest game, but a fantastic showing from Jayson Tatum (23 points) and a strong performance from the C’s bench gives the Celtics a win in their season opener, even with Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward shooting a combined 6-for-26. Much more to come.

LIVE COVERAGE:

10:22: FINAL: Celtics beat the Sixers, 105-87.

10:12: Someone needs to take Joel Embiid out of this game. Tatum crosses him up and hits a bank shot, then Horford blocks him down the other end.

10:06: Jaylen Brown just obliterated Joel Embiid while driving to the rim. Brown/Tatum up to 32 combined points.

RIM WARFARE pic.twitter.com/ssIdFM6Tmv

— Jaywob Brown (@World_Wide_Wob) October 17, 2018

• Aron Baynes started in place of Hayward to start the third. Should not come as a surprise, given Hayward's minute restrictions. Baynes has been strong down low against Embiid.


• Jayson Tatum continues to surpass expectations. It's nuts that a 20-year-old is that smooth with the ball in his hands.


• Marcus Morris started to heat up in the third, especially from his go-to spots at mid-range. He's 6-of-8 from the field with 13 points.

Julian Edelman is here at TD Garden. pic.twitter.com/OeZUANNXRs

— Conor Ryan (@ConorRyan_93) October 17, 2018

• Brad Stevens found a nice mix to start the second quarter with Hayward and Tatum sharing the floor with Smart, Rozier and Baynes. That group opened things up with a 7-0  run and played some stifling defense against a Sixers unit featuring Simmons, Embiid and few other scoring options.


• Philly's really having trouble scoring in the halfcourt sets. They are not in sync but the C's defense looks to be at a completely different level compared to the preseason.


• Hayward knocked down a pair of midrange jumpers to break the ice early in the frame and has been very active on the defensive end with three steals.


• Saric headed to the bench early in second quarter with three fouls, limiting him to just nine minutes in the first half.


• Kyrie Irving labored through his worst offensive half as a Celtic, scoring zero points on 0-of-8 shooting. The majority of the looks were of the wide open variety but Irving could not find his range, particularly from downtown.


• Ben Simmons and Joel Embiid got going in transition regularly to keep the Sixers close but the C's have locked them down extremely well in the halfcourt.

• Very uneven performance to start by both teams with out of control drives and ineffective offensive sets. These are two good defensive teams but their offenses looked very much like this was the opener.


• C's relied heavily on Jayson Tatum to get things going in the opening minutes, as he scored nine of the first 11 points thanks to a mix of pullups and drives to the rim.


• Sixers were very sloppy with the ball with the starting unit, turning the ball over six times in the opening frame, which led to easy points.


• Hayward and Irving both went scoreless in the first quarter, missing their combined three field goal attempts.


• C's led by as many as eight points at one point late in the frame, but the bench unit gave it back with a 7-0 Sixers run to close the quarter thanks to some sloppy turnovers from Smart and Rozier.

• The Celtics will stay small in the regular season opener, going with the same starting lineup they opened last season with. The configuration will lead to some intriguing matchups on the perimeter as the C's contend with the Sixers strength advantage down low.


• Brad Stevens on prepping his guys for the opener after an underwhelming preseason: “I think the last week’s been good. I think we’re anxious to play somebody else after these practices and see where we stand. We’ll have a lot of information after tonight and after this week. But playing a heck of a team, and they challenge you in so many different ways that this will be really good for us.”


• The Sixers will be down a key rotation piece in Wilson Chandler who remains out with a knee injury.


• Robert Williams will be inactive for the CelticS.