Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combine for 61 points as Celtics prevail over Sixers, 109-101.

KISSIMMEE, Fla. – Game 1 goes to the Boston Celtics.

They defeated the 76ers, 109-101, Monday night to take a 1-0 lead in the best of seven series. Game 2 is 6:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown had a lot to do with the outcome, combining for 61 points.

Tatum finished with game highs of 32 points and three blocks to go with 13 rebounds. Twenty-one of the All-Star forward’s points came in the first half. The 22-year-old became the youngest Celtic to finish with at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game.

Brown added 29 points while making 5 of 8 three-pointers.

Joel Embiid paced the Sixers with 26 points and a game-high 16 rebounds. Josh Richardson and reserve point guard Alec Burks had 18 apiece.

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Celtics forward Gordon Hayward left in the second half with a sprained right ankle injury and didn’t return.

The Sixers’ starting lineup was one of the biggest questions heading into this series. Coach Brett Brown acknowledged Sunday that he was considering starting standout rookie Matisse Thybulle for defensive purposes against the Celtics’ four talented perimeter players — Tatum, Brown, Hayward, and Kemba Walker.

The Sixers are also without injured two-time All-Star Ben Simmons, their best defender.

With Simmons out, the Sixers don’t match up well against the Celtics defensively.

Richardson and Thybulle are legitimate perimeter defenders. But the Sixers went with their normal starting lineup of Harris, Al Horford, Embiid, Richardson, and Shake Milton.

Thybulle checked in for Horford with 6 minutes, 28 seconds left in the first quarter and made a quick impact. He blocked Tatum’s three-point attempt on his second defensive possession.

Then his three-pointer with 2:44 left in the quarter gave the Sixers a 23-19 advantage. Philly took a 26-25 lead into the second quarter.

The Celtics took the lead and built a double-digit advantage (53-43) after Brown took Thybulle off the dribble to score a layup with 1:33 before intermission. The Sixers pulled within six points thanks to Richardson’s going on a personal 7-2 run to end the half.

Harris’ seven assist in the first half tied a season high for a game. He finished with 15 points and eight assists.

The Sixers had two problems n the first two quarters — Tatum and turnovers.

Tatum’s 21 first-half point were the most by a Celtic in a postseason half since Avery Bradley in 2017. The Sixers didn’t help themselves, committing 13 first-half turnovers. They led to 16 Celtics points.

In the third quarter, Boston built an 11-point cushion. However, the Sixers ended the quarter with a 15-0 run to take a 81-75 lead on Embiid’s jumper 24 seconds into the fourth quarter.

The Celtics responded with a 26-10 run to take a 101-91 lead on Kemba Walker’s layup with 3:19 left.

This was Sixers assistant John Bryant’s first game in the bubble. He arrived late to the bubble because his wife was having a baby. Juan Jackson, the Sixers’ director of team security, is no longer in the bubble.