Jaylen Brown scored a game-high 26 points and Jayson Tatum added 25 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists to lead the Boston Celtics to a 123-91 victory over the visiting Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday in Game 1 of an Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

Sam Hauser made 4 of 6 attempts from 3-point range and added 12 points for second-seeded Boston, which never trailed in the game.

Seventh-seeded Philadelphia received 21 points with eight assists from Tyrese Maxey and 17 from Paul George. Kelly Oubre finished with 10 points and seven rebounds.

The 76ers shot 38.9% from the floor, including 4 of 23 (17.4%) from 3-point territory. No Philadelphia player made more than one 3-pointer.

Philadelphia also committed 15 turnovers, which helped Boston hold a 22-3 edge in points off turnovers.

Boston center Neemias Queta was in foul trouble for much of the game, but scored 13 points in 15 minutes of playing time.

Boston had an early double-digit lead after a Tatum jumper ended an 11-1 spurt that put the Celtics up 17-7. Philadelphia was 6 of 21 (28.6%) from the field — 1 of 9 from 3-point range — in the opening quarter and trailed 33-18 after the opening 12 minutes.

The Celtics stretched their lead to 23 points in the second quarter and held a 64-46 halftime lead. Tatum scored 21 of his 25 points in the opening half.

After the 76ers trimmed their deficit to 15 midway through the third, Boston went on a 10-0 to extend its lead 83-58. The Celtics led by as many as 26 later in the quarter and had a 95-71 advantage entering the fourth. Brown scored 16 of his 26 points in the third.

The Celtics held a 107-75 lead following a Payton Pritchard layup with 9:03 to play. Boston led by as many as 35 later in the fourth.

Game 2 in the series will be Tuesday night in Boston.

–Field Level Media

Finding space on the ice is expected to be an ongoing challenge for the Ottawa Senators and Carolina Hurricanes in their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.

So, finding any small edge will be critical when they meet in Game 2 on Monday night at Raleigh, N.C.

“The first round always has all the energy in the world and that’s what you expect,” Hurricanes coach Rod Brind’Amour said.

Carolina won 2-0 in the first game Saturday behind Frederik Andersen’s 22-save performance.

Both teams had difficulty finding openings and more of that could be in the works.

“I don’t think this series it’s ever going to look like there’s a ton of space out there,” Senators coach Travis Green said. “It’s going to look very similar every night. I think at the end of every game, both teams are going to feel like there wasn’t space on the ice and I don’t see changing.”

So, it came down to what the goalies could do.

“The goalies had to really shine,” Brind’Amour said.

Ottawa’s Linus Ullmark made 27 saves Saturday, but he fell to 5-11 in career playoff games. He was sharp as well, though Andersen stole the spotlight when it wasn’t clear leading up to the series opener if he would be Brind’Amour’s choice.

He had to decide between Andersen and rookie Brandon Bussi. Andersen got the call.

“He was up to the challenge,” Brind’Amour said. “We have good options and both guys have played well. Clearly, experience, I think won out. … Freddy has a track record and we know what he’s capable of.”

Green said to win on the road in the playoffs the goalie has to play well (and he liked Ullmark’s outing) and a power-play goal or two would be a boost.

The teams combined to go 0-for-9 on power plays in Game 1, with the Hurricanes having five chances.

“They’re a quick team,” Green said. “They’re good in this building.”

Carolina’s relentless nature is something the Senators need to be ready for again.

“They’re deep,” Green said. “They’re good. … Carolina does a real good job of playing their game.”

Carolina’s Logan Stankoven supplied a goal and an assist in the series opener, extending a strong stretch. He had an eight-game points streak to end the regular season.

Three of Stankoven’s four multi-point postseason outings have come with the Hurricanes. His line has been rolling up strong numbers for the past few weeks.

“We have a lot of depth,” Stankoven said. “Since the break, our line has been clicking pretty good. We’ve been able to find each other and I think we’re all hungry to track pucks.”

Now the Hurricanes will look for upgrades on power plays.

“If we look at one area we’re not overly happy with is our power-play chances,” Stankoven said. “Every team as a series goes on makes adjustments.”

Carolina improved to 7-0 in its last seven postseason opening games. The Hurricanes put together some quality stretches in the offensive zone.

“They probably deserved to win analytically, and they did,” Green said.

The Hurricanes have won 12 of 18 all-time best-of-seven series when winning Game 1.

–Field Level Media