National Basketball Association

3 Takeaways From Celtics-Sixers – Game 1

Updated Aug. 18, 2020 12:43 a.m. ET

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Two historic Eastern Conference franchises matched up in Game 1 of their first round playoff tilt on Monday, with the 3rd-seeded Boston Celtics taking down the 6th-seeded Philadelphia 76ers.

Here are the 3 key takeaways from Boston's win over Philadelphia:

1. The Celtics go as Jayson Tatum goes

Boston Celtics All-Star Jayson Tatum scored a playoff career-high 32 points on Monday, adding in 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. 

And as has become customary for Boston, when Tatum has a big night, his team wins. 

Boston is 36-7 on the season when Tatum scores 20 or more, and the Celtics are 13-3 when he scores 30 or more. 

Tatum shot 47.6% from the field, and Boston is 24-12 when he shoots at least that percentage. 

2. But wait – Boston also goes as Jaylen Brown goes

Jaylen Brown poured in 29 for Boston on Monday, and the Celtics are 26-8 when he scores 20 or more. 

In addition, Boston is 14-0 when Brown scores at least 25 points. 

While Tatum ended up as Boston's leading scorer, he scored 28 of his 32 points through the first three quarters. 

Brown scored 15 of his 29 in the fourth.

 3. Fourth quarter dooms Philly

After outscoring Boston 30-20 in the third quarter and finishing the third on a 13-0 run, the Sixers entered the final 12 minutes with a 4-point lead and quickly made it a 6-point lead.

Things then went downhill fast.

After connecting on their first two buckets in the fourth quarter, the Sixers went 3-for-17 in the last 10:54 of Monday's game. 

Of the Sixers' 22 fourth quarter points, 9 came at the free-throw line. From the 10:24 mark to the 5:14 mark, Philadelphia did not convert a single field goal, and in the final 5:14, the Sixers only connected on one field goal – a Josh Richardson three-pointer with 59.1 seconds to go.

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