BOSTON — Jaylen Brown got 32 points, Derrick White scored seven 3-pointers and added 25, and the Boston Celtics beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 120-95 on Tuesday night in Game 1 of their second-round playoff series.
Jayson Tatum ended with 18 points and 11 rebounds to assist the Celtics in pulling away in the second half.
The Cavaliers made 11 of 42 from 3-point range and stayed close early. But the Celtics were even better from the outside, making 18 of 46 from beyond the arc for the game.
This helped Boston take a 15-point lead into the fourth quarter. The Celtics then began the final period with a 10-2 run to increase their lead to 102-79.
Donovan Mitchell scored 33 points and had six assists for the Cavaliers. He is the fourth player in league history to score 30 or more points in six consecutive playoff series openers, joining Michael Jordan (three times), Kobe Bryant and Wilt Chamberlain.
Darius Garland contributed 14 points.
Game 2 will take place on Thursday night in Boston.
White continued his strong performance after scoring 38 and 25 points in the final two games against the Miami Heat in the first round.
With the Cavaliers performing well from the 3-point line early on, White led the Celtics' offense. It was his third time this postseason with at least six 3s.
Both teams played without their starting centers. Cleveland’s Jarrett Allen missed his fourth straight game due to a bruised rib injury sustained in the first round against Orlando. Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis was sidelined for the second consecutive game with a strained right calf.
The top-seeded Celtics had a longer break after quickly defeating the Heat in the first round. They appeared like a rested team, starting with a 12-2 lead, with nine of those points coming from Brown.
Mitchell was equally aggressive for Cleveland, scoring eight points during a 21-9 surge by the Cavaliers to move ahead.
But Boston settled down, finishing the opening period with a 19-11 run to take a 40-34 lead into the second.
The 74 combined points in the opening period were the most in a Celtics’ playoff game since 1990 and the third-most in franchise history.
The Celtics led 59-49 at halftime.
___
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba
