AMHERST — The Celtics reserves have been getting the better of the team’s starters through the first week of training camp, but last night the first five showed why they have those jobs. And the subs showed why they’re still understudies.
The Celts’ opening crew built leads as great as 16 in the preseason opener against Philadelphia at UMass’ Mullins Center, but the bench gave it all away in a 92-89 loss.
Jae Crowder hit three 3-pointers in the first quarter, and each starter went on to finish a plus-12 or better. Crowder, Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas had 11 points apiece, while free agent signee Al Horford had eight points and eight rebounds in 15 minutes, all in the first half.