The Boston Celtics were able to take a surprising 1-0 series lead with a win over the Milwaukee Bucks in Game 1. It appears things went according to plan for point guard Kyrie Irving.

The Celtics defeated the Bucks handily 112-90 on the road. Irving said Boston was looking to impose their will on Milwaukee to start the series, via Streamable:

“It's a great start to a series,” Irving said. “We wanted to come out and make a statement for ourselves first and foremost.”

There is no question that the Celtics managed to do just that. The Bucks had been heavily favored to win the East going into the playoffs. Not only did they finish with the No. 1 spot in the East but they are led by the frontrunner for MVP in forward Giannis Antetokounmpo. Regardless, it is clear that did not matter much in Game 1.

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Although both teams traded punches throughout the first half, Boston came out firing in the third quarter. The Celtics were quickly able to take a comfortable lead and never looked back. Irving was his usual dominant self after finishing with 26 points, 11 assists, and seven rebounds in the win. More importantly, the one-sided finish to the game allowed Boston to rest its star players in the fourth quarter.

Meanwhile, Milwaukee will need to go back to the drawing board if they hope to split the series at home in Game 2. Boston did a solid job of containing Antetokounmpo all game as he finished with just 22 points on 7-of-21 shooting. The Celtics must continue to limit his production if they hope to defend their Eastern Conference crown.