The Boston Celtics knew how to take advantage of the field factor at TD Garden and went ahead 2-0 in the first round series of the Eastern Conference playoffs after beating the Atlanta Hawks 119-106. Jayson Tatum was the main protagonist of the victory with a double double of 29 points and 10 rebounds, with six assists and five triples, supported by Derrick White’s 26 points, with a brilliant 11 of 16 shooting.
A great success by the Celtics —a 55.8% accuracy rate on shots (48 of 86) and a 45.5% accuracy rate on triples (15 of 33)— led the Boston franchise to achieve a comfortable victory that puts their move to the NBA on track. next round with two games to play in Atlanta.
The Hawks tried to close the gap through Bogdan Bogdanovic’s three pointers and managed to get within eight points of their rival. However, Joe Mazzulla’s team gave them no choice and delivered the final blow. In the Atlanta franchise, Dejounte Murray’s 29 points, with seven triples, and Trae Young’s 24 points were of little use.
At the Footprint Center, a monumental Devin Booker, with 25 of his 38 points in the second half, destroyed the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday and tied (1-1) the first round series of the NBA West playoffs for the Suns (123-109), who will now move to the Crypto.com Arena in the city of Los Angeles to play the two remaining games.
After a slow start for the Phoenix team, the Clippers tried to take control of the game to the rhythm of an extraordinary Kawhi Leonard, but the Suns managed to react in time to end up being the absolute dominators of the match.
Booker dominated the second half and finished with 38 points and nine assists, shooting 14 of 22 (10 of 14 in the second half), supported by a forceful Chris Paul from midrange, with 16 points, eight assists and a great defensive contribution. Kevin Durant contributed 25 points, six rebounds and five assists, despite not being successful from the line of three (0 of 4).
The Clippers, for their part, had the performance of a great Russell Westbrook —28 points, five rebounds and five assists, with a nine of 16 accuracy on shots— who together with Leonard —31 points, eight rebounds, seven assists and three steals —, they managed to put the Suns in trouble, but without final reward.
Two battles now await both teams in Los Angeles, with the Clippers getting home field advantage in the most even series of this first round.
Those who also managed to equalize the series were the Cleveland Cavaliers against the New York Knicks (107-90), thanks to a fierce defense and the brilliant performance of Darius Garland with 32 points, six triples and seven assists. The Cavaliers responded to Saturday’s loss with a solid performance, conceding just 90 points to the Knicks, who shot a modest 36.7% accuracy.
Donovan Mitchell’s double-double of 17 points and 13 assists added to Jarrett Allen’s nine points and 10 rebounds and Evan Mobley’s 13 points and 13 rebounds, certified the superiority of the Cavs, who captured 10 more rebounds than the Knicks (54 -44). Spaniard Ricky Rubio had no minutes in JB Bickerstaff’s rotations.
The Knicks gave up on a night in which they were off the mark, hitting just 7 of 29 3-pointers. Julius Randle led the way with 22 points and Jalen Brunson had 20 points, five rebounds, six assists and four steals, but he only made 5 of 17 shots from the field.
Games 3 and 4 of the series will be played on Friday and Sunday in New York at Madison Square Garden.
