– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
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BOSTON — In truth, the Boston Celtics’ game on Saturday night meant next to nothing for what they hope will be another historic season looming on the ever-nearing horizon. But showcasing another dominant display mirroring where they left off last June was surely heartwarming to everyone in attendance inside TD Garden on Saturday night … well, except for the fact that green-and-white confetti did not fall on the parquet floor after the final buzzer.
From the opening tip, the defending NBA champions treated their first 2024-25 preseason game in front of their home fans with the seriousness of a do-or-die elimination game, jumping out to a 22-point first-quarter lead before cruising to a 139-89 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers inside TD Garden. This wasn’t the Celtics’ first preseason game overall, as it returned stateside after a couple of games in Abu Dhabi against the Denver Nuggets, and the Sixers played without the likes of Joel Embiid, Tyrese Maxey and new acquisition Paul George (who made his Philadelphia debut last night). But Boston treated the home fans who last saw them celebrating their 18th world championship four months ago to their first taste of why many should expect more of the same dominance as the regular season gets underway in 10 days’ time.
“I think there’s a standard that’s been set by the people that have been here for a long time — the players,” Celtics head coach Joe Mazzulla said. “And then we try to bring guys in that wanna uphold that. So it’s a credit to the locker room for setting that one for a long time and it’s a credit to the guys coming in that work to be a part of that.”
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Saturday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST staff photographer Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page. Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 35 pictures in total.
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