Booker scores 38 points to help Suns even series with comeback victory over Clippers

Devin Booker scored 38 points, Kevin Durant had 25 and the Phoenix Suns beat the visiting Los Angeles Clippers 123-109 on Tuesday night in Game 2 to tie the Western Conference first-round series.

But led by Booker, they never panicked.

The three-time All-Star drilled a 3 just before the halftime buzzer to tie it and scored 18 points in the third quarter on 7-of-8 shooting, helping the Suns push to a 92-87 advantage entering the fourth.

Phoenix never trailed in the final quarter, slowly pulling away.

Booker had a stellar shooting night, connecting on 14 of 22 shots, including 4 of 7 on 3s. He added nine assists. Deandre Ayton added 14 points — on 7-of-10 shooting— and 13 rebounds. Torrey Craig hit 5 of 8 3s and had 17 points, and Chris Paul had 16 points and eight assists.

Kawhi Leonard led Los Angeles with 31 points after he scored 38 in Game 1. Russell Westbrook added 28 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

Celtics take 2-0 lead vs. Hawks

Jayson Tatum had 29 points and an emphatic dunk to end a clinching late run and the Boston Celtics beat the visiting Atlanta Hawks 119-106 on Tuesday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round playoff series.

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

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.

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 level series with Knicks

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 at one game apiece with a 107-90 victory over the Knicks on Tuesday night.

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.

New York was still down 23 and playing its starters when Julius Randle was hit in the air by Cavs centre 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.

Caris LeVert scored 24 points off the bench and Donovan Mitchell added 17 and a career playoff-high 13 assists for the Cavs, who were much more physical than in Game 1 and went toe to toe with the Knicks.

Randle scored 22 points and Jalen Brunson added 20 for New York, which got the split it needed in rowdy Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse to head home for Game 3 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night.

The Cavs matched the Knicks' physicality from the outset, winning the 50/50 balls that went to New York in the opener. And if handling Cleveland's new-found toughness wasn't enough of a challenge, the Knicks bashed each other.

During one sequence in the second quarter as the Cavs were beginning to pull away, Randle turned to run up the floor and accidentally smacked Brunson in the face, causing his teammate to recoil in pain.

Garland inflicted his own damage.

Garland got the message.

He drained a pair of 3-pointers during a 13-4 run in the second quarter and then showed no fear when he drove to the basket and tried to dunk over 7-foot Knicks centre Isaiah Hartenstein, who got away with goaltending while fouling Cleveland's guard.

The Cavs bench erupted at seeing Garland's bravado, and Mitchell slapped his hands before urging the sellout crowd to recognize him. The moment seemed to rattle the Knicks as New York's Josh Hart was called for a technical foul.