Boston Celtics started their Eastern Conference first round with authority, beating the Philadelphia 76ers 123-91 at TD Garden in front of 19,156 fans. The 2-seed Celtics controlled all four quarters and now lead the series 1-0.

Boston never trailed, led for 47:19, and built a game-high margin of 35. The quarter splits told the story: 33-18, 31-28, 31-25, 28-20. On Sofascore, the box score and play-by-play back up how routine this looked.

Celtics set the tone early

The opening 12 minutes were one-way. Boston shot 56 percent from the field in the first quarter and went up 33-18. By halftime it was 64-46, and the TD Garden crowd did not need a comeback playlist.

Across the night the Celtics finished 45/90 from the field and 16/44 from three, while holding the 76ers to 35/90 overall and just 4/23 from deep. Boston’s defense cleaned up the glass with 38 defensive rebounds and forced 14 turnovers. The home team also dished 31 assists to Philadelphia’s 20.

Brown and Tatum lead a balanced attack

Jaylen Brown paced the scoring with 26 points on 11/21 shooting and a perfect 2/2 from three. Jayson Tatum added 25 points, 11 rebounds and 7 assists on 9/17 shooting and 6/6 at the line.

Tatum’s Sofascore Rating came in at 8.6, with Brown at 8.2. Derrick White ran the game flow smartly with 10 points and 6 assists, while Payton Pritchard contributed 12 points and 6 assists off the bench. Sam Hauser knocked down 4 of 6 from three for his 12 points.