76ers Playoff Watch: Celtics, Cavaliers Find Success on Tuesday

Following another Philadelphia 76ers win over the Brooklyn Nets in the opening round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs, four more teams battled it out on Tuesday night.

First, the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks resumed their series. When the seventh-seeded Hawks visited the Celtics over the weekend, Atlanta didn’t seem to stand a chance.

Although the Hawks were able to upset the Miami Heat in the NBA Play-In Tournament in order to solidify their spot for the NBA Playoffs, the Celtics weren’t going to make the same mistakes as the Heat.

With a lopsided Game 1 victory, the Celtics moved to 1-0 in the series. On Tuesday night, we saw a lot of the same. During Game 2, the Celtics established a lead, going up by as many as 22 points. The star duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown produced a combined 47 points.

Meanwhile, the starting guard Derrick White shot efficiently from the field, knocking down 11 of his 16 shot attempts for 26 points in 33 minutes. On the defensive end, the Hawks held Trae Young to 9-22 shooting from the field.

In the end, the Celtics defeated the Hawks with another convincing victory. By falling short 119-106, the Hawks find themselves in an 0-2 hole. Now, they hope that bringing the series to Atlanta can help them gain an advantage and make it more competitive.

Knotting The Series

There weren’t any upsets in the series between the Celtics and the Hawks just yet, but the same can’t be said for the first-round battle between the New York Knicks and the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Despite paying a visit to the Cavaliers, who had an amped-up playoff crowd as it’s been years since they made it to the postseason, the Knicks weren't fazed by the energy going against them.

Instead, New York took the regular season success they found against the Knicks and applied it to the playoffs. Despite being pegged as the underdogs, the Knicks took a 1-0 series lead. On Tuesday night, the Cavaliers clapped back.

Cleveland guard Darius Garland lit it up from three on Tuesday night, draining six of his ten shots from deep. He finished the night with a game-high of 32 points. Off the bench, the Cavaliers got a solid boost from Caris LeVert, who scored 24 points in 39 minutes of action.

Overall, the Knicks struggled on offense by draining just 37 percent of their shots. After getting up 29 threes, New York hit on just seven of their attempts from beyond the arc. By following up with a low-scoring Game 2, the Knicks couldn’t find the same magic on the road in Cleveland.

The Cavaliers collected a 107-90 victory, sending the Knicks back to New York with a tied-up scenario. The two teams will meet again on Friday at Madison Square Garden.

Eastern Conference Scoreboard

1. Bucks vs. 8. Heat — Heat Lead 1-0

2. Celtics vs. 7. Hawks — Celtics Lead 2-0

3. Sixers vs. 6. Nets — Sixers Lead 2-0

4. Cavaliers vs. 5. Knicks — Series Tied 1-1