4 takeaways from Celtics crushing 76ers to stay undefeated

BOSTON — The Celtics remained undefeated in preseason action with a 139-89 blowout victory over the 76ers on Saturday night at TD Garden. Boston led by 54 points against a weakened Sixers squad that rested its top eight players coming off back-to-backs against the Timberwolves on Friday night.

Boston's starters fed up early against the 76ers' deep reserves, taking a 40-18 advantage in the first quarter that ballooned from there. Jaylen Brown (18 points) led six different Celtics in double figures while Jayson Tatum added a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds in just 23 minutes before getting most of the second half. Rookie Jared McCain scored a game-high 20 points in Philadelphia's upset.

Boston improved to 3-0 in the preseason with the win with two games remaining, starting Sunday night against the Raptors. The Sixers fell to 1-2 with the loss.

Here are four takeaways from the Celtics' win Saturday night:

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Cornet lit up while Horford rests: The Celtics are content to wear Al Horford a bit this preseason as he misses his third straight game. Luke Cornett continued to start in his place and played the best half of his career against the 76ers reserves. He led all scorers with 15 points in the first half, adding five offensive rebounds to help the hosts get points with 12 second-chance opportunities. Cornett is going to be a player that doesn't pay attention to opposing defenses, especially when he's on the floor with the starters. However, his size and hoop IQ allow him to find easy looks in the offense and on the glass, as evidenced by his 7-of-10 shooting from the field. Boston's front-court depth will be tested with Kristaps Porzingis sidelined earlier in the year, but Cornett continues to look tasked with bigger minutes.

The starters already look ready for the regular season: Coming off a five-day break, Joe Majulla ran his starters (minus Al Horford) through their normal workloads for the first three quarters, and the results were pretty promising. Boston's stars were engaged on both ends of the floor while the team's passing cohesion remained as good as ever. The level of competition hasn't exactly been a challenge for this group but Majulla will have to be satisfied with the objective of playing this group to a title. With just two preseason games remaining over the next three days, it wouldn't be surprising to see this group make it out of a quick first-half cameo in Toronto on Tuesday night. With this group doing so well there's no need to take any risks.

Guerschon Yabusele looks like he belongs to: The former Celtics big man started at center for the Sixers and the team rested most of their regulars. Yabusele couldn't keep the Sixers' bench from running Boston's starters off the floor, but the 28-year-old held his own in his 20 minutes of action. He knocked down a pair of threes, posting seven points and three rebounds overall to go along with a block. In addition to stretching the floor from the perimeter, Yabusele also beat Jayson Tatum on a postup for an easy layup. The Sixers don't have many power options off the bench with size in their big rotation so it seems like Yabusel has a chance to fill that role.

Lonnie Walker shows the best version of himself: The veteran guard was ruled out for duty in his first two preseason games with Boston. On Saturday night, Majulla gave Walker a chance with Boston's regular bench rotation, and he made the most of it. Walker (nine points) is known for being aggressive with his shot, but he was a pass-first player against the Sixers and dished out seven assists off the bench, including several unselfish sequences. He was also annoying on the defensive end (two steals, one block) and looked like a worthy wildcard option with Boston's second unit, at least for one night. Making the final roster is still going to be an uphill battle for him but after this outing it's easy to see the team's approach in bringing him aboard for a closer look.