A look at who stepped up so the Celtics didn't miss Kristaps Porzingis in Game 1

BOSTON -- The Celtics have a big void in their lineup due to the absence of Kristaps Porzingis. But that void was hard to notice during Boston's 120-95 victory over the Cavaliers in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.

If Jaylen Brown is going to score 32 points off just 18 shots and Derrick White continues his absolutely torrid shooting, Porzingis' absence is much less of a factor. But it was a complete non-factor Tuesday night thanks to Boston's suddenly outstanding depth in the frontcourt.

The Celtics got by just fine without the floor-stretching center, thanks to a tag-team effort from Al Horford, Luke Kornet, and Xavier Tillman. Horford led the way in the starting five, having an "Everything Al" night with seven points, eight rebounds, and four assists. It was your typical showing from Boston's glue guy.

Kornet deserves the lion's share of the praise though, as he was a game-changer for the Celtics over his 21 minutes off the bench. Within a minute of checking into the first quarter, Kornet rejected a layup attempt by Isaac Okoro, leading to two easy points by Brown in transition. A few minutes later, he sent back a Donovan Mitchell layup attempt.

The 7-foot-2 Kornet was an imposing force in the paint all night long. He scored just four points, but he was a beast on the boards with 10 rebounds. He corralled six of those off the offensive glass. As a team, the Cavaliers had just seven offensive rebounds for the game.

Tillman also made a mark over his seven minutes, and not all of it was during garbage time. In a three-and-a-half minute stint in the second quarter, Tillman hit his only shot while grabbing three rebounds. 

With Kornet and Tillman giving the Celtics quality minutes off the bench, Horford played just 27 minutes on Tuesday. The ability to the 37-year-old fresh during Porzingis' absence is invaluable for Boston.

But filling the Porzingis void falls on more than just the Boston bigs. 

"It's on everybody," head coach Joe Mazzulla said after the win. "To rebound, to play physical, to communicate. So, I thought Al and Luke and X did a good job from the big standpoint, but it's on everybody to be able to do that. And I think everyone did that."

A big part of that "everybody" was Jayson Tatum. He shot just 7-for-19 and missed all five of his three-pointers, but Tatum made a lot of things happen for the Celtics in Game 1. With his deep shot off, Tatum attacked the rim and finished with 18 points. He was around the rim all night, snagging a team-high 11 rebounds for Boston, while adding three blocks on the defensive end. Tatum also dished out five assists, tying White for the most on the C's.

It's a sign of Tatum's maturity that he can find a number of ways to impact the game when he isn't scoring. Usually Porzingis can help pick up the scoring slack when Tatum's shot is off, but that luxury isn't available at the moment. Thankfully, the Celtics didn't need that Tuesday night because everyone else on the floor stepped up. 

That luxury could be returning sooner rather than later, with longtime Celtics insider Steve Bulpett reporting before Game 1 that both the Celtics and the Cavaliers believe Porzingis will make an appearance sometime this series. He was expected to be out until at least the Eastern Conference Finals (should Boston advance, of course), so this is an incredibly positive development for the Celtics. 

But the even bigger development was the fact that the Celtics did not miss Porzingis on Tuesday night. If he is available sometime later in the series, that would be great news too. The Celtics will absolutely need his services going forward.

But for now, it looks like Boston's depth will do just fine at holding down the fort.