Eastern Conference Recap, April 23: Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum Lead Boston Celtics to Take Down Atlanta Hawks

The Boston Celtics are now up 3-1 against the Atlanta Hawks thanks to a collective effort from Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum.

Tatum and Brown each had 31 points to take Game 4 in Atlanta. Marcus Smart and Derrick White contributed another 37 points, going 7 of 17 from the arc. Al Horford didn’t score, but contributed 11 rebounds, with Robert Williams III adding 15 to complement his 13-point double double.

“I felt like we were very detailed on the offensive end,” coach Joe Mazzulla said. “I thought we were poised and fought to get great shots.”

Hawks forward De’Andre Hunter looked like the story of the game with a 27-point performance in the loss. Trae Young and Dejounte Murray combined for 58 points but only got 21 from the Hawks bench.

OTHER NOTES:

- The New York Knicks are proving their doubters wrong against the Cleveland Cavaliers. They moved one game closer to the conference semifinals behind a combined 55 points from R.J. Barrett and Jalen Brunson. Josh Hart had another solid contribution with 19 points, while Mitchell Robinson scored 12 and grabbed 11 rebounds.

Julius Randle struggled once again, going 3 of 10 for just seven points. Thankfully, basketball isn’t a one-man sport, and Randle got plenty of help from his surrounding cast.

Darius Garland performed admirably in the second half, but Donovan Mitchell put up just 11 points. When asked about the loss, Mitchell said, “We can’t hang our heads and give up. We’re not that type of group, we’ll be ready for Game 5.”

Jayden Armant is a contributor to Inside the Heat. He is a student at Howard University. He can be reached at jayden.armant@bison.howard.edu or follow him on Twitter @jaydenarmant.