BOSTON – Here are the Stars, Studs and Duds in Boston’s 117-101 Game 1 win over Philadelphia.
STARS
Jayson Tatum: His aggressive play at both ends of the floor was impressive for anyone, let alone the youngest guy on the roster. For the game, Tatum had 28 points on 8-for-16 shooting.
Joel Embiid: Boston had no answer for Embiid in the post, delivering a game-high 31 points on 12-for-21 shooting and 13 rebounds and five assists.
Terry Rozier: He continues to be at his best at the TD Garden, delivering one big shot after another. He finished with a playoff career-high 29 points on 11-for-18 shooting along with eight rebounds and six assists.
STUDS
Boston Celtics
Al Horford: Aggressive Al Horford is still on the clock, folks. He was a strong force at both ends of the floor for Boston, finishing with 26 points on 10-for-12 shooting along with seven rebounds and four assists.
J.J. Redick: He was ridiculously hot from the field in Philly’s first-round series against Miami. The veteran guard had a solid game on Monday as well, scoring 20 points on 7-for-13 shooting.
Marcus Smart: It was another one of those nights when shots weren’t falling for Marcus Smart. But once again Smart’s value to winning was a key to Boston getting the win with Smart finishing just short of a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds.
DUDS
Ben Simmons: He was once again flirting with a triple-double on Monday, but Simmons was never able to get into any kind of rhythm which for him means racking up lots of assists. He had 18 points on 6-for-11 shooting, with seven rebounds and six assists. But he also had seven turnovers – just three fewer than the entire Celtics team.
Robert Covington: One of the more under-rated two-way players, Covington was at his worst at both ends of the floor in Game 1. He tallied just three points, all from the free throw line while missing all six of his field goal attempts.