Aron Baynes’ Celtics beat Ben Simmons’ 76ers
Ben Simmons fell short of a triple-double for the 76ers, but it was Aron Baynes and his Celtics who won in the NBA season opener.
Ben Simmons put on a show and fell just short of a triple-double for the Philadelphia 76ers, but it was Aron Baynes and his Boston Celtics who reigned supreme in the NBA’s season opener.
The Celtics soundly beat the 76ers 105-87 in Boston today. The Celtics knocked the 76ers out of last season’s playoffs and they continued their dominance in the highly-anticipated match-up with Boston’s second-year forward Jayson Tatum topscoring for his team with 23 points. Simmons was outstanding with 19 points, 15 rebounds, eight assists, four steals and two blocks.
The reigning NBA Rookie of the Year’s game involved no-look, behind-the-back and off-the-ground passes, slashes to the basket, dunks and jump hook shots.
Simmons, who beat Tatum last season for the Rookie of the Year Award, duelled throughout the game.
“I’m a lot more sure about myself, confident and relaxed,” Tatum said. “Last year I went through a lot of ups and downs so in my second year I knew what to expect.”
Baynes, coming off the bench, had the Boston crowd on its feet with his strong, scrappy and inspirational play while going head-to-head with 76ers’ All-Star centre Joel Embiid.
The Queenslander had eight points, four rebounds, three assists and hit two of his four three-point attempts.
His performance received a rave review from NBA great Charles Barkley who argued Celtics coach Brad Stevens needs to find more court time for the Australian in what is a roster overloaded with talent. Baynes only played 19 minutes.
“They have to play Aron Baynes more,” said Barkley, an 11-time NBA All-Star and NBA analyst on America’s TNT TV network.
“That is my takeaway. He does all of the dirty work.”
Embiid had 23 points and 10 rebounds.
The Celtics’ All-Stars, Kyrie Irving and Gordon Hayward, who missed the playoffs last year through injury, had seven and 10 points respectively.
The 76ers’ Australian rookie Jonah Bolden was brought on in the final minute and did not take a shot.
AAP
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