Celtics defend home court, take 2-0 lead to Atlanta

Derrick White added 26 points and seven rebounds, and Jaylen Brown scored 18 points. Boston outscored Atlanta 64-40 in the paint.

Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 29 points, and Trae Young had 24.

Game 3 is Friday night in Atlanta.

Down by 20, the Hawks cut it to single digits late in the third quarter.

With Atlanta trailing 74-57, Young went to the bench and sat out the final 7:07 of the period, briefly visiting the locker room.

His teammates picked it up without him, outscoring the Celtics 24-16 to pull within nine — at 90-81 — entering the fourth.

Young returned to begin the final period and scored four straight points with just over five minutes to play to make it 104-95.

But the Celtics responded with a 15-2 run — bookended by a 3-pointer and dunk by Tatum — to get it back up to 119-97 with 2:16 left.

While the Hawks brought a better shooting touch on Tuesday, the Celtics took their overall energy up a notch, repeatedly beating Atlanta down the court in transition and outhustling Hawks to loose balls.

One glaring example was in the second quarter when Brown pried the ball free as De’Andre Hunter drove by.

Malcolm Brogdon corralled it and tossed it ahead a sprinting Brown, who had split between Young and Dejounte Murray as they got caught ball watching.

CAVALIERS 107, KNICKS 90: Darius Garland scored 32 points, 26 while setting an aggressive tone for Cleveland in the first half, and the Cavaliers evened their Eastern Conference playoff series against New York by winning at home.

Garland scored 15 points in the second quarter, when Cleveland tightened down defensively and dominated New York, forcing nine turnovers on the way to opening a 20-point halftime lead. The Cavs pushed their lead to 29 in the fourth.

Cleveland’s blowout ended with a hard foul.

New York was still down 23 and playing its starters when Julius Randle was hit in the air by Cavs center Jarrett Allen on a dunk with 2:22 left. Randle fell hard to the floor, and after getting up, exchanged words with several Cavs players and coach J.B. Bickerstaff.