Sixers vs. Celtics Game 1 takeaways: Doc Rivers’ smart move to zone defense and more

BOSTON — The 76ers have enough confidence in their roster to produce without Joel Embiid.

The Sixers’ zone defense is king.

And the Boston Celtics’ Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are great players who dominate the ball too much at times.

These three things stood out Monday in the Sixers’ 119-115 victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Sixers had no business winning Game 1.

They were without presumptive league MVP Joel Embiid, who is sidelined with a sprained right knee. And even when Embiid had played this season, the Celtics were their worst possible matchup.

But the Sixers’ resiliency, once again, enabled them to pull out a victory few expected.

“I don’t think it’s one man; I think it’s a unit,” James Harden said. “It’s the next man’s opportunity to step up. So we’ve been together all year long, since training camp — all year. We’ve had a really good year. Of course basketball, things happen. Guys going in and out of the lineup. So it’s always that mentality, the next man up, which was a prime example tonight.”

With Embiid out, Harden took it upon himself to be more aggressive offensively. He ended up tying his postseason high with 45 points. Harden also made seven three-pointers, which was a postseason best.

» READ MORE: Move over Reggie. This was Harden at the Garden. Now, the Sixers just need Embiid.

Doc Rivers has mastered making second-half adjustments this postseason. Those adjustments enabled the Sixers to sweep the Brooklyn Nets in their opening-round series.

After surrendering 71.8% shooting in the first half, the Sixers switched to a zone defense after intermission.

“That kind of cut them off,” Tucker said. “That’s what zones do sometimes if you do them right. If you get the isos, and we don’t have to overhelp as much and make them take some kind of shots that they don’t really want to take.”

The Sixers held Boston to 49 points after intermission.

Tatum finished with a team-high 39 points while Brown added 23 points. They combined to take 35 of their team’s 75 shot attempts.

At times, it seemed like Brown and Tatum were trying to take over. They both tried to dominate in the second half. In the process, their teammates got out off rhythm and became spectators because of the lack of ball movement.

» READ MORE: Sixers head coach Doc Rivers reflects on his time in Boston, embraces new role as ‘arch enemy’

While they rack up a lot of points individually, Brown and Tatum tried to dominate the ball. That takes the Boston guards out of the game. And the Celtics will need to get another player in rhythm in order to beat the Sixers. Yes, I know they’re the team’s best two players. They just need to get teammates more involved.

Malcolm Brogdon did score 20 points on 9-for-16 shooting. But aside from Brogdon, their team spent too much time watching Tatum and Brown. It’s pretty obvious that the duo does whatever they want to go on the court.

And that wasn’t a good thing after intermission.

Tatum struggled through 3-for-10 shooting in the second half, while Brown went missing in action with just three shot attempts.

Best performance: This goes to Harden. He willed the Sixers to victory, showing glimpses of the Harden of old.

Worst performance: This is a tough one, but I have to give it Derrick White. The Celtics shooting guard had four points on 1-for-5 shooting, including going 0-for-4 on threes, while being a minus-15 in 27 minutes, 8 seconds

Best defensive player: This goes to Al Horford. The Celtics center finished with a game-high three blocks.

Worst statistic: This goes to the Celtics second-half, three-point shooting. They made just 2 of 12 threes after intermission.

Best statistic: I have to give this to the Celtics outscoring the Sixers, 26-8, in points in the paint in the first quarter.