On Monday night, basketball fans got an early preview of a potential rookie battle this coming season. The Boston Celtics and Philadelphia Sixers competed as part of the NBA Summer League in Utah, with both players having good performances. However, it was the Celtics' young star who was able to lead his team to victory. Here's a look at what went down in the Markelle Fultz vs. Jayson Tatum duel as the Celtics and Sixers fought for a summer league victory.

Summer game recap

In Utah, the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia Sixers played their squads of young stars and players looking to make it into the rotation this coming season.

Among the players competing for Boston was last year's No. 3 pick Jaylen Brown, and this year's No. 3 pick Jayson Tatum. For the Sixers, the No. 1 overall pick Markelle Fultz was on the court, as well as second-round pick Jonah Bolden from Australia.

Of those players, Tatum and Brown put up a combined 50 points to help lead the Celtics. Brown finished with a double-double of 29 points and 13 rebounds, while Tatum had 21 points and seven boards. Tatum hit the biggest shot of the game down the stretch as he nailed the game-winner, a shot from just a few feet above the free throw line. That made it 89-88 in favor of the Celtics with about five seconds remaining, but Philly couldn't come up with an answer.

Despite the loss, the Sixers saw an impressive summer league debut from rookie Markelle Fultz. He led all Sixers scorers with 17 points on 6-for-16 shooting which included a 2-for-5 rate from downtown.

Fultz also had three blocks along with two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Teammate Timothy Luwawu-Cabarrot finished with 16 points, seven rebounds, and five assists, while Alex Poythress had 11 points and eight boards in the loss.

If this game is any indication of the future of the Eastern Conference, Fultz and Tatum certainly showed that they could be the next stars of the league, at least on that side of the NBA.

Coming up next

In other NBA Summer League action in Utah, the San Antonio Spurs and Utah Jazz locked up. Utah prevailed 87-74 thanks to 18 points, six rebounds, and five assists from Dante Exum. The players and teams get a break for the July 4th holiday but will resume playing the day after.

The Wednesday, July 5th schedule for Utah features the Celtics vs. Spurs at 5 p.m. Mountain Time, followed by the Sixers vs. Jazz at 7 p.m. Mountain Time. On Thursday it will be the final day of the league games for Utah. On the schedule, it's the Sixers vs. Spurs, and then the Celtics vs. Jazz. All games are available for television viewers on NBA TV.
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