{"id":321590,"date":"2026-04-20T09:16:00","date_gmt":"2026-04-20T03:46:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/?p=321590"},"modified":"2026-04-20T09:16:00","modified_gmt":"2026-04-20T03:46:00","slug":"jayson-tatum-strong-in-nba-playoffs-return-as-celtics-crush-76ers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ebiztoday.news\/index.php\/2026\/04\/20\/jayson-tatum-strong-in-nba-playoffs-return-as-celtics-crush-76ers\/","title":{"rendered":"Jayson Tatum strong in NBA playoffs return as Celtics crush 76ers"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Boston Celtics forward\/guard Jayson Tatum scores through the first half in Game 1 of a first-round NBA playoffs basketball game against the Philadelphia 76ers, Sunday, April 19, 2026, in Boston. (Monica Herndon\/The Philadelphia Inquirer via AP)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

BOSTON \u2014 Jayson Tatum had 25 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists in his first playoff game since rupturing his right Achilles tendon last season, and the Boston Celtics rolled past the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91 in Game 1 of their NBA Eastern Conference first-round series on Sunday.<\/p>\n

Jaylen Brown scored 26 points and Neemias Queta added 13 for the second-seeded Celtics.<\/p>\n

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Tatum scored 21 points in the primary half, playing in only his seventeenth game this season following surgery last May to repair his Achilles tendon.<\/p>\n

READ: NBA: Celtics are whole again and title contenders<\/h4>\n
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THE JAYS SHINED IN GAME 1 \u2618\ufe0f<\/p>\n

JB: 26 PTS, 2 STLJT: 25 PTS, 11 REB, 7 AST, 2 STL<\/p>\n

CELTICS WIN AT HOME! pic.twitter.com\/NgfspzGIj6<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 NBA (@NBA) April 19, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cI\u2019m still rehabbing,\u201d Tatum said. \u201cI still attack rehab each day apart from when we’ve got off days. \u2026 Still attempting to ramp up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Boston never trailed, constructing a 35-point lead as coach Joe Mazzulla gave minutes to 12 players. The Celtics connected on 16 3-pointers.<\/p>\n

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\u201cThat was Celtics basketball,\u201d Brown said. \u201cWe\u2019ve been the harder-playing team all yr. That may\u2019t change now that the playoffs have began.\u201d<\/p>\n

Game 2 is Tuesday night in Boston.<\/p>\n

Tyrese Maxey had 21 points and eight assists for the 76ers, who played without Joel Embiid. The 2023 MVP continues to recuperate following an appendectomy on April 9. It\u2019s unclear when he’ll have the ability to return.<\/p>\n

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Thunder top NBA title odds, Spurs and Celtics to not be counted out<\/strong><\/p>\n

Paul George scored 17 points and V.J. Edgecombe added 13. Philadelphia was 4 of 23 from 3-point range.<\/p>\n

Maxey was hounded by a Celtics defense that contested 12 of his 14 shot attempts in the primary half and held him to eight of 20 from the sector.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia\u2019s 64-46 halftime deficit was its largest in a playoff game against Boston since 1982. Coach Nick Nurse called the Sixers\u2019 effort \u201cabsolutely unacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just didn\u2019t do enough at either end to settle into the sport,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Tatum had 10 first-quarter points, punctuated with an emphatic two-handed dunk, to assist the Celtics end the period with a 33-18 lead.<\/p>\n

Philadelphia struggled on the outset to maintain pace with Boston\u2019s shooting, making one in all its first nine attempts from 3. The Sixers also had issues keeping Boston out of the paint after Embiid\u2019s understudies, Adem Bona and Andre Drummond, each picked up two quick fouls.<\/p>\n

That prompted Nurse to usher in Dominick Barlow, who played just 10 minutes in Philadelphia\u2019s play-in victory over Orlando.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n