On Sunday, Game 1 of the Celtics-Sixers series went exactly as expected: a dominant showing by Boston against a Philly squad that had to fight its way out of the play-in tournament. The Celtics’ superstars on the court looked great, and even on the sidelines, their head coach appeared to be a step ahead of his counterpart.
A viral clip from the Celtics-Sixers game shows Boston head coach Joe Mazzulla surveying the floor as the Sixers prepared to run a sideline out-of-bounds play. Realizing what Philadelphia’s Nick Nurse wanted to run, Mazzulla promptly barked out instructions at his players.
“Pin down. Watch the pin down, watch the pin down!”
Sure enough, Andre Drummond went to set a pin down for Paul George, who was coming off the left corner. Anticipating George’s moment, Jaylen Brown adjusted his movement and drew an offensive foul from Drummond in the process.
Defensive plays like these helped the Celtics pull off a dominant 123-91 victory in Game 1. On a night when the home team limited their turnovers to eight, the Celtics forced the Sixers to commit 14 errors and shoot just 38.9% from the field.
Jaylen Brown had 26 points on 11-for-21 shooting, while Jayson Tatum had a double-double performance with 25 points and 11 rebounds. Meanwhile, Tyrese Maxey put up 21 points on a subpar 40.0% shooting clip.
“Something I’ll Never Take for Granted”: Jayson Tatum Gives Props to Celtics Fans for Raucous Support in Game 1
After the game, Jayson Tatum praised the fans inside TD Garden for their tremendous support in Game 1 of the Celtics-Sixers series.
“We have a tremendous crowd…Just the opportunity again to play, play here in the playoffs is special and, you know, something I’ll never take for granted.”
Tatum infamously ruptured his Achilles in the second round of the playoffs last year. Now that the six-time All-Star is back in action, the Celtics have become a formidable threat to every other Eastern Conference squad in the postseason.
