Boston Celtics Down 76ers in NBA Season Opener

The Boston Celtics beat their Eastern Conference rivals, the Philadelphia 76ers, by 105 – 87 on Monday night.

It marked a return to best form for Jayson Tatum, who finished with a game high 23 points for the Boston Celtics.  Marcus Morris finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds against his hometown team

Ben Simmons starred for the Philadelphia 76ers, although it wasn’t enough. Simmons finished with 19 points, 15 rebounds, 8 assists and four steals.

The chatter around the match was all about the developing rivalry between the two teams. However, a despondent Joel Embiid doesn’t see it that way.

Want $250 to bet on the NBA?

The All-Star centre said “This is not a rivalry”.

“I don’t know our record against them, but it’s pretty bad. They always kick our a**. So this is not a rivalry.”

Embiid himself finished the first game of the season with 23 points and 10 rebounds.

Despite the disappointing result, Ben Simmons impressed for the 76ers, and drew praise from his coach.

“I thought Ben showed signs of incredible athleticism and confidence to shoot some jump-shots,” said Brett Brown.

Read: Warriors are Unsurprisingly the Favorites to Win it All this season

“At times, he was a part of the rest of us, where we were searching. We were forcing a lot, wee moved the ball. We got good looks, we didn’t make them, but we really got good looks. That 18 assist number is the second lowest number that we had all of last season.

“Some of it, you credit the Celtics. Some of it is that we need to get better at trusting what we’ve been doing and been good at. I thought he was like everyone else, up and down.”

The Philadelphia 76ers have a chance to redeem themselves at home against the Chicago Bulls on Friday.