What an electric preseason opener. Late-game theatrics from Aaron Nesmith and Romeo Langford, along with production from The Pillars (Brown and Tatum), helped earn Boston a hard-fought victory, 98-97.
Here are the highlights and lowlights from the 48 minutes of play:
First Quarter: A Jayson Tatum three — off great ball movement — put the Celtics on the board for the first time of the 2021-22 campaign. As expected, though, both teams came out of the gate disjointed and rusty; they combined to make just six of their first 18 shots. Once the first-few-minutes-of-preseason jitters subsided, Jaylen Brown caught fire, scoring ten straight points to give the Celtics a 14-10 lead by the 6:23 mark.