POST GAME PHILLY - 2018 HOME OPENER - HOME - GO RED SOX!

Celtics Wrap: Second-Half Surge Powers Boston To Opening Night Win Over 76ers

NESN by Adam London on Tue, Oct 16, 2018 at 10:22PM

The Boston Celtics kicked off their 2018-19 NBA season on a high note. After both the C’s and the Philadelphia 76ers struggled throughout the first half, Boston pulled away in the final two quarters to earn a 105-87 win at TD Garden. Jayson Tatum had the big night for the green, posting a team-high 23 points. Marcus Morris (16 points, 10 rebounds), Jaylen Brown (12 points), Terry Rozier (11 points) and Gordon Hayward (10 points) also scored in double figures for the home team. Philadelphia’s stars Joel Embiid (23 points, 10 rebounds) and Ben Simmons (19 points, 15 rebounds) impressed, but it wasn’t enough to earn a road win. Here’s how it all went down:

STARTING FIVE PG: Kyrie Irving SG: Jaylen Brown SF: Jayson Tatum PF: Gordon Hayward C: Al Horford

FORGETTABLE FIRST TD Garden was rocking leading up to tip-off, but the volume was brought back down to a moderate level once play got underway, as neither team looked particularly sharp early on. The Celtics shot an underwhelming 32 percent from the field in the first quarter — which concluded with the score deadlocked at 21-21 — while the 76ers weren’t much better, posting a 39-percent mark. Tatum was the lone bright spot in the opening 12 minutes, pacing all scorers with nine points. But in a first frame that featured nine combine turnovers and a combined 2-for-12 clip from 3-point range, there wasn’t much else to get excited about.

SECOND-QUARTER STRUGGLES It was much of the same in the second stanza, as neither team was able to regroup and find a rhythm after the ugly first. The Celtics showed more signs of life, though, and took a 47-42 lead into the break. Boston received a boost from its bench to the tune of seven points from Marcus Smart and four from Terry Rozier. Hayward also got his first points of the season under his belt, chipping in four. Philly leaned on its top guys to weather the struggle storm, with Joel Embiid and Ben Simmons each providing five points. Simmons nearly posted a first-half triple-double, too, coming up just short with nine rebounds. Last year’s No. 1 pick Markelle Fultz also looked fairly impressive with five points in the quarter.

BREATHING ROOM After a sloppy, back-and-forth affair in the first half, the Celtics upped their play right out of the gate in the third quarter and took a 77-66 lead into the fourth, which marked the first double-digit advantage of the game. Boston’s bench continued to come up big, as Marcus Morris powered the home team with eight points in the frame. Tatum wasn’t too far behind with seven, including an emphatic slam and pretty and-1. Kyrie Irving, who was held scoreless in the first half, logged five points. Philadelphia continued to struggle to find a hot hand, as no Sixer scored more than six points in the third.

FINISHING TOUCHES The Celtics didn’t let up as the fourth quarter got underway, preventing the 76ers from mounting any sort of real comeback. After being limited to five points through the first three quarters, Brown provided a spark in the final frame with seven points, while Rozier wasn’t too far behind with five. The trio of Embiid, Simmons and JJ Redick helped keep the Sixers relatively in the game — combining for 20 points in the fourth — but it wasn’t enough to make this one all that interesting down the stretch.

UP NEXT The Celtics return to action Friday night against the Toronto Raptors. Tip-off from Scotiabank Arena is set for 8 p.m. ET.

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Red Sox Wrap: Jackie Bradley Jr., Steve Pearce Come Up Big In 8-2 Game 3 Win

NESN by Logan Mullen on Tue, Oct 16, 2018 at 9:02PM

The Red Sox are in the driver’s seat. Boston took control of their American League Championship Series with the Houston Astros on Tuesday, claiming an 8-2 win in Game 3 at Minute Maid Park. Steve Pearce and Jackie Bradley Jr. each accounted for big home runs. With the game tied at two, Pearce gave the Red Sox the lead on a solo home run in the sixth, while Bradley blasted a grand slam in the eighth to put his team up by the deciding margin. Nathan Eovaldi, meanwhile, was nails on the mound over six innings of work. The Red Sox now lead the series 2-1. Here’s how it went down:

GAME IN A WORD Clutch. Whether it was Eovaldi on the mound or Pearce and Bradley Jr.’s timely dingers, there was no shortage of clutch performances.

ON THE BUMP — After a solid showing in his postseason debut last week against the New York Yankees, Eovaldi pitched well again in his second opportunity. He allowed two runs on six hits with two walks and four strikeouts over six innings of work. The offense gave Eovaldi a two-run cushion to begin his outing, and he immediately gave one back. With runners on first and second and two outs in the bottom half of the first, Marwin Gonzalez laced a single to right to plate a run and cut Boston’s lead to 2-1.

Eovaldi bounced back with a 1-2-3 second, then allowed a single and a walk in a scoreless third before retiring the side in order in the fourth. The right-hander ran into some trouble in the fifth while trying to preserve the one-run lead. Eovaldi walked Jose Altuve with two outs, and Alex Bregman responded. The third baseman launched a bouncing ball to third and Rafael Devers was unable to come up with it, allowing the ball to roll all the way down the left field line, scoring Altuve from first to tie the game. Though it easily could have been called an error by Devers, it was scored as a double for Bregman.

With a 3-2 lead in tow in the sixth, Eovaldi surrendered a single in an otherwise clean frame to end his night. — Ryan Brasier took over in the seventh and allowed a two-out bunt single to Altuve, but got Bregman to line out to center the next at-bat to finish the inning. — Matt Barnes issued a leadoff walk in the eighth, then was lifted after getting the ensuing two hitters out. — Joe Kelly relieved Barnes and got Carlos Correa to ground out to short to end the stanza. — Eduardo Rodriguez closed the door with a 1-2-3 ninth.

IN THE BATTER’S BOX — The Red Sox offense struck quickly, putting two runs on the board in the first. Mookie Betts and Andrew Benintendi started the frame with singles, with Betts scoring on a J.D. Martinez double. Xander Bogaerts grounded out the next at-bat to plate Benintendi, upping the score to 2-0. — With the game tied at two in the sixth, Pearce put his team back on top. The first baseman stepped in with one out in the frame and the bases clear and was served up a 1-0 fastball on the inside part of the plate. He put it into orbit, sending Boston back ahead 3-2. —

The Red Sox added quite a bit of insurance in the eighth off Astros reliever Roberto Osuna. Xander Bogaerts hit a one-out single, then Devers drilled a single of his own two batters later. Brock Holt pinch-hit for Ian Kinsler and narrowly was hit by a pitch, which loaded the bases. Then after pinch-hitter Mitch Moreland worked his way into a 2-2 count, Osuna beaned him as well, bringing in a run to make it 4-2.

Bradley then stepped in and created some fireworks, blasting a grand slam to put the game out of reach. — Andrew Benintendi led the Red Sox with two hits. — Betts, Martinez, Bogaerts, Pearce, Devers, Bradley and Eduardo Nunez all had one hit. — Kinsler and Christian Vazquez went hitless.

NEXT The Red Sox and Astros will continue the ALCS with Game 4 on Wednesday night. Rick Porcello is scheduled to get the ball for Boston and will be opposed by Charlie Morton. First pitch from Minute Maid Park is set for 8:39 p.m. ET.

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Another great night in Titletown

Great team  win for the Celtics. Hayward a little rusty , but not bad. Looks reasonably healthy. Kyrie stunk it up and we still waxed them. Baynes, Rozier , Morris great off the bench. Philly 11 for 45 from beyond 10 feet. I give our perimeter D a  lot of credit , but I continue to maintain, the 6ers can't shoot, and that includes their star players. They have guys who are superior athletes and will put up numbers every night, but its a shooters league. Simmons and Joel got their numbers tonight, but you better surround them with shooters. Just one game, but I actually think the Raptors may be more of a test, especially if Leonard is healthy.

How sweet it is, as Jackie Gleason would say.

I could see why Gordon was judged an All Star. he hs a good shot and an eye fro stealing the ball. Terry was scary good again. Tatum is a monster. Jaylen showed some stuff after early misses. Morris is too good for me to dislike when he comes off the bench. Baynes - sure glad we signed him - and Marcus too. Kyrie - meh, but he's suffering from nothing that a can of WD-40 won't cure. Such a fun game to watch.

Yes it was, worcester. I never broke a sweat

Love the Rozier block on Embiid at around the 2:55-3:00 mark and Jaylen stuffing the ball THROUGH Embiid's block at the 8:25 mark, and Horford stuffing Embiid at the 8:45 mark!





http://kwese.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=401070213


An 18 point beat down and Kyrie was 2-14 and Hayward 4-12, a combined 6-26.  If they're getting blown out with those two players having bad games at the beginning of the season and coming back from injuries Philly is doomed because they are only going to get better as they get their game rhythm and mojo back.

And Fultz?  He does not want to shoot from anywhere except at the rim.  There is no reason to change my opinion that Danny should be wearing an orange jumpsuit for grand larceny in the Fultz-Tatum deal.  Tatum is turning into a stone-cold killer (at 20 years old. Tatum is still younger than Rob Williams) while Fultz is still trying to figure out what the Hell he is.  Watch him dither with the clock winding down because he didn't want to shoot from anywhere but close.

https://streamable.com/d32nq



bob



.

We won by a big enough margin and we didn’t really have a good game at all. Our defense was there, swarming and sticky as ever, Al had 5 blocks, did a great job on Embid and great seeing our latest 3 point threat Baynes doing his effective dirty work. Morris had a nice game, as did Rozier. Great to see Hayward come back and show some good things in spurts as he will get stronger and better, but he may never be the equal of 2 J’s again. These 2 kids are the main cogs and torchbearers for this team, no disrespect to GH or Kyrie. 

They just have that special blend of athleticism and skill in so many 
areas and JB didn’t even have an outstanding game, but you know the talent is there. Both are human highlights waiting to happen and both had a few of those moments tonight and will be many to follow this year and for a long time coming. Love the way they both attacked Embid whenever they got the chance, fearless and young, gotta love it!!! Kyrie was off, I would like him to start to develop a game where 
when his shot is off, he can still help in other ways better than he showed tonight.

This team showed so much and we weren’t even on, we are gonna get better and better, great first game. Forgot to mention how much more refined and better Tatum looks.... I think he’s been working out.

Hey bob glad you saw the game from wherever your at, you pit bull adventurer you....

Stevens did an excellent job balancing the minutes. Nobody played more than 30 for the Cs. sixers were reliant on Their stars for minutes.

cowens/oldschool wrote:Hey bob glad you saw the game from wherever your at, you pit bull adventurer you....

Cow,

Unfortunately I couldn't watch the game, I only watched those highlights, looked at the boxscore and the shooting charts to get a feel for where players were getting their points from.

I'm in Cape Town, South Africa.  I'm writing this from the Wi-Fi lounge atop Table Mountain, drinking water and eating ostrich droewors (sort of a Boer Slim Jim sausage stick)  after a nice 1 1/2 hour hike.  I leave tomorrow for Gansbaai, along the coast  few hours.  10/19 is my birthday.  In the morning I will cage dive with Great White sharks (visiting distant relatives, so to speak) and sleep that night at a 5-star hotel in Stellenbosch, the capital of South Africa's wine country.


bob


.

Dan Greenberg
@StoolGreenie
Joel Embiid vs Cs centers last night

Aron Baynes: 33 possessions, 4-10 shooting
Al Horford: 30 possessions, 4-9 shooting

Next.


bob


.

Hi,
Finally I can drop "is it October 16 yet" - the basketball season is here!
A few notes on the game.
We have a monster bench. TR, Smart, Baynes, Morris just demolished their counterparts.
KI really stunk. Looks like he'd need a few weeks to get to at least of last year's level.
Hayward still looks rusty but it should go away in a few games.
The other 3 starters, JB, JT and AH, looked like game 7 of ECF was just 2 days ago.
JB and especially JT exude so much confidence like they've been in the league at least 10 years.
Big Al will need a lot of rest time - he's not a young pup anymore. I guess if Brad keeps his MPG under 30 and gives him a few games off - that'd be great.
On the Phila side, I can say that they are inferior team.
As others here pointed out: if you want to be a good team you need to shoot. Doesn't seem to be the case with 76's.
All in all, it's a great start.

AK

Bobby h nice sounds like great fun!!

bob


.

I just want to say I love all the cross overs and dribble dancing Tatum was doing right before that banker in Embid’s face, and then the stare down!!! We got the 2 best wings in the league since Jordan and Pippen and they are just babies....

Game one of what should be a long and grueling season is in the books.

The Celtics beat Philly by 18 points on a night when our offense was sporadic and our leading scorer, Kyrie Irving,  could not throw the ball in the ocean.

There were a few very impressive things that happened.

The game started off slow for both teams before Jason Tatum hit a 15 foot jumper with 9:19 left in the first QTR   Tatum went on to jump start the team scoring 9 points in the QTR.  He looks good.   really really good.  They are giving him the rock up top and spacing the floor so that he can go to work one on one.  Wow this 20 year old veteran got game!

Gordon Hayward surprised me with his defensive acumen coming up with 4 steals where he showed the ability to read Philly's offense.  He also fought for rebounds and had 5 total.  He hit a couple of sweet jumpers that brought rain.  You can see that he is starting to find his rhythm.

Terry Rozier killed it.  He must have hit at least 3-4 jumpers where he drove in and then stepped back and drained them.  He had zero turnovers and was all over the glass with 8 boards.  

Marcus Morris had a solid double double scoring 16 with 10 rebounds.  He shot the ball very well.  As a matter of fact anytime Philly was trying to get back in the game guys like Morris, Rozier and Tatum scored the ball.

Aaron Baynes is one tough hombre.  By the way he went 2-4 from deep.  It appears he is picking up from where he left off last year.

Jaylen Brown showed his elite level of athleticism.  He only shot 5-13 but all of his points came at the right time.  He also collected 5 boards.  

Marcus Smart was 2-4 from behind the arc and he had 3 assists and 3 rebounds.  He played 25 minutes.

One of the things I am still wondering about is how the distribution of minutes will work out.  Last night Boston pretty much went with a 9 man rotation.  With Hayward's return some guys are going to play less minutes.   This was just one game but it appears to me that Marcus Smart may take the biggest hit in MPG.

Next up the Raptors.  Interesting schedule to play the best teams in the East back to back.

I am very happy that basketball is back.

Enjoy the season Celtics fans!

Sinus interesting

"KI really stunk. Looks like he'd need a few weeks to get to at least of last year's level.
Hayward still looks rusty but it should go away in a few games."

I doubt it will take a few weeks for Kyrie to find his range and Hayward is more then a few games removed from knocking off the rust.

On a side note Philly is a really good team but Boston is a nightmare matchup for them. They cannot check their assignments.

Another great Sam's Moderator/Contributor returns with the new season.

112288 and the Post Game Summary!

Give him an MLB playoff run, and he covers The Sox too!

Embiid declares "There is no Celtics -Sixers rivalry.  They always kick our ass".  Nothing brings so much joy to my life as breaking an opponent's spirit and belief in their ability to compete.  Today is a good day.









bob


.

A few more observations.

The Celtics put up 97 shots in the game.  Yet they did not score a lot of fast break points (16-6 Sixers)  The distribution of minutes should result in a faster pace and that pace should include more end to end action.  Fast break basketball is still missing from this team.  They have the horses and they need to turn them loose.  Energy on defense and on getting up and down should make it easier for Brad to use his bench.

At the beginning of the season he is likely to go with a 9 man rotation to get them used to playing together.  Integrating Hayward is not a simple task because he wants to play big minutes but so does everyone else.  

The depth on this team will be a big factor in winning the East.

If you are anyone in the NBA right now, this has to scare the hell out of you.

No remorse, no prisoners. Go Get That #18.

mrkleen09 wrote:If you are anyone in the NBA right now, this has to scare the hell out of you.

No remorse, no prisoners.  Go Get That #18.

Right we are so young and so stacked and we get into you on defense. We have the depth, the goods, we can attack the strengths of the best teams, nobody can attack the perimeter and defend like us....

Great year to be green, and I loved that first game for all the reasons noted here. I think we'll know a lot more tonight after dealing with Toronto and Leonard. If game 2 goes as well as game 1, I'll begin to breathe. Hawk

Game #2 will be a good early marker for BOS. I've pretty sure Kyrie as stewed immeasurably over the last 48 hours and will go bananas tonight. Perfect game for him to erupt and make the bricklaying performance of Game 1 a distance memory.

db