By Brandon Apter, Sports Talk Philly editor 
The Philadelphia 76ers opened their preseason schedule on Tuesday night against the Boston Celtics in a game that featured the much-anticipated debuts of Joel Embiid and Dario Saric. After falling behind by as much as 14 early on, the Sixers chipped away and their reserves were able to hold off the Celtics late in the game to win the preseason opener, 92-89.
This game provided us with some very encouraging signs from both players, with Embiid getting in his first game action since March 1, 2014, scoring six points while grabbing four rebounds and tallying two blocks. Meanwhile, Saric looked sharp for the most part in his first NBA game, showing long-range shooting ability along with solid defense against Al Horford and Amir Johnson for the most part. He finished with 10 points and six rebounds.
In addition to Embiid and Saric, undrafted rookie free agent Brandon Paul had a strong showing in the second half, scoring 15 points in under 13 minutes while T.J. McConnell put together an all-around effort as the starting point guard, finishing with 13 points and four assists. Sergio Rodriguez led the Sixers with six assists as he was a large part of the fourth quarter efforts to preserve the lead.
The first quarter, like the last few years, had the Sixers looking overwhelmed. Boston hit three after three and Philadelphia failed to find any way to claw back. Joel Embiid's first stint on the floor lasted 4:12 and he went 0-3, all mid-range shots, with a rebound. Dario Saric got the Sixers first points with a three-pointer to take an early 3-2 lead before Boston pulled away. Sergio Rodriguez came off the bench to back-up T.J. McConnell, who started in place of Jerryd Bayless. It took until just under a minute to go for Embiid to hit his first shot over Tyler Zeller. Joel hit a fadeaway 10-foot jumper to cut the Celtics lead to 12, 25-13.
.@JoelEmbiid's first bucket. https://t.co/bHTQcngydK
— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) October 4, 2016
With the Sixers holding for the final shot in the first, Embiid stepped just inside the three-point line to drain a jumper, bringing Philadelphia to within 10 as the first quarter came to a close.
The Sixers looked a little more together in the second, especially on the defensive end of things to start the quarter. Joel Embiid played his second and third stints of four minutes and looked more comfortable as the game progressed. He hit two free throws before the half to end his first preseason game with six points, four rebounds, two blocks and three turnovers in just under 14 minutes on the floor.
The bright spot in the second was the play of Dario Saric. He looked great on the break and hit another three ball en route to finishing the first half with eight points to go along with five rebounds.
THE HOMI33 https://t.co/chiGDiPecr
— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) October 4, 2016
As the time began to tick closer to halftime, Boston's starting five returned to the floor and immediately went on a 9-0 run to extend their lead to 12 after Philadelphia had climbed to within three. The Celtics went into the half up by 12, 43-31.
To start the third quarter, the Sixers went with McConnell, Stauskas, Covington, Saric and Noel and they began to chip away at Boston's lead. As the quarter went along, it seemed like Nerlens Noel began to feel more comfortable. He made it a four-point game, 49-45, after a foul line jumper with just under seven minutes to go in the third.
Dario slips one past the D to @NerlensNoel3 for the @StateFarm Assist Of The Night. pic.twitter.com/TbljWXKVHP
— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) October 5, 2016
Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Richaun Holmes and Brandon Paul each saw their first minutes in the third. Holmes showed what most expect from him with energy off the bench, quickly scoring four points and grabbing three rebounds. Towards the end of the third, Robert Covington began to feel it a bit, hitting back-to-back three's to cut the Boston lead to 63-61 heading into the final quarter.
In the fourth quarter, the Sixers kept their foot on the pedal. Brandon Paul completed a three-point play and Luwawu hit his first shot of the night to put them ahead by three to start things off. Paul drained a three to make it 69-63 as a part of a 19-2 Philadelphia run on the Boston reserves with just under 10 minutes to play.
Things got close as the game came to a close, with both teams' bench players playing hard to get a win. With the Sixers up by three with just over a minute to go, Sergio Rodriguez found Richaun Holmes on the move for a monster slam to put Philadelpha ahead by five, 90-85. He finished with 10 points and four rebounds in just under 13 minutes in the second half.
SHEESH RICHAUN 😳 https://t.co/UJBPbHNRlv
— Philadelphia 76ers (@Sixers) October 5, 2016
The Sixers turned the ball over twice in the final seconds, but the Celtics were unable to capitalize, resulting in a 92-89 win for the Sixers.
All in all, a lot of good takeaways from the Sixers preseason opener. Embiid had a successful debut, Dario Saric showed a lot, Brandon Paul is someone to watch for and Sergio Rodriguez could be a great, low-risk signing for the Sixers this season as he ran the second and third team offenses with ease.
