Boston Celtics dominate Atlanta Hawks, Cleveland Cavaliers rout New York Knicks to tie series

NEW YORK – The Boston Celtics are “peaking” just when it matters the most but they believe that they can still go up another level in the National Basketball Association (NBA) play-offs.

On Tuesday night, Jayson Tatum delivered a performance for the home crowd as the Celtics took a 2-0 first-round series lead over the Atlanta Hawks, while Darius Garland delivered a 32-point gem in the Cleveland Cavaliers’ series-leveling rout of the New York Knicks.

Tatum finished with 29 points as the second-seeded Celtics overcame a slow start to dominate the seventh-seeded Hawks for a 119-106 victory at Boston’s TD Garden.

“Play-offs are all about adjustments, trying to move on from game to game, seeing what you can do better – and I think we played better,” he said after the win.

“We want to be peaking at this time of year. Everybody’s healthy, playing the right way, playing really well – but we’ve got another level we can go to, hopefully.”

Atlanta jumped out to a 22-11 lead in the first quarter before Boston’s offence clicked to give the Celtics a 28-25 lead heading into the second quarter.

Once in front, the home side never relinquished the advantage, opening up a 61-49 half-time lead and extending that to 20 points midway through the third quarter as Boston’s defence shut down Atlanta’s scoring.

Atlanta rallied to get within eight points of the Celtics in the fourth quarter, but Boston never looked like squandering their lead down the stretch and pulled away convincingly to ensure they will take a 2-0 advantage into Game 3 in Atlanta on Friday.

Tatum’s 29 points included five three-pointers, while Derrick White provided offensive support with 26 points and Jaylen Brown added 18.

Dejounte Murray led Atlanta’s scorers with 29 points and Trae Young finished with 24.

“They won, we lost – we’ve just got to be better,” Atlanta playmaker Young said.

Also in the Eastern Conference play-offs on Tuesday, the Cavaliers roared back into their best-of-seven series with the Knicks following a 107-90 win.

Beaten 101-97 in Game 1 last Saturday, they bounced back in spectacular fashion to score a blowout victory.

Cleveland opened up a 25-22 first-quarter lead and never looked back, outscoring New York 34-17 in the second quarter to take a decisive grip on the contest.

Garland’s sparkling 32-point display included a 26-point devastating first-half scoring burst.

Caris LeVert added 24 off the bench, while Donovan Mitchell contributed 17 points with 13 assists.

“Everybody in the building told me to go be aggressive, go shoot the ball,” said Garland, who failed to attempt a shot in the fourth quarter in Game 1.

“I watched the film from the first game and seeing some opportunities where I can go get mine and go be aggressive and that’s what I just tried to do today.”

The Knicks’ offence, meanwhile, failed to fire, with the team’s 90-point total their second lowest tally of the season. Julius Randle finished with 22 points while Jalen Brunson added 20.

Game 3 of the series takes place at Madison Square Garden in New York on Friday.

In the Western Conference play-offs, Devin Booker recorded 38 points and nine assists, and the Phoenix Suns evened their series at one game apiece with a 123-109 victory over the visiting Los Angeles Clippers.

Kevin Durant added 25 points, six rebounds and five assists as Phoenix rebounded from a Game 1 home loss.

Torrey Craig scored 17 points and made five three-pointers, Chris Paul added 16 points and eight assists and Deandre Ayton had 14 points and 13 rebounds for the Suns.

Kawhi Leonard registered 31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals and Russell Westbrook added 28 points for the Clippers.

Game 3 will be played on Thursday in Los Angeles. AFP, REUTERS