Brown scores 29, Celtics hold off late rally by Hawks

BOSTON — After an opener that went from rout to flirting with catastrophe, the Boston Celtics got both a win and an early reminder of how lulls could spell doom in the playoffs.

Jaylen Brown had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and the Celtics capitalized on a woeful shooting performance by the Atlanta Hawks to hold on for 11299 victory in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference firstround matchup on Saturday.

Jayson Tatum scored 25 points, 21 in the first half. Derrick White finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds for Boston, which hosts Game 2 on Tuesday.

“We expect to get their best shot,” Brown said. “We let them get a little more comfortable in the second half, so I expect the next game for them to be a little more prepared. So we’ve got to be a little more prepared as well.”

It was Brown’s first game since missing the final two of the regular season with a cut on a finger on his shooting hand. He played with tape and wrap.

He played through pain, hitting on 12 of 23 field goal attempts, but had six turnovers. He said it is hard to grip the ball and his hand “split open” at one point. It will be examined Sunday.

The No. 2-seeded Celtics led by as many as 32 points, pouncing on an Atlanta team that missed its first 10 3-point attempts and shot 5-for-29 from beyond the arc for the game.

Atlanta used a 32-12 run to cut the deficit to 96-84 on a three-point play by Bogdan Bogdanovic early in the fourth.

The Celtics got the lead back up to 107-87. It was 110-97 with less than two minutes to play when Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter got free on a fast break. But his layup attempt was blocked by Marcus Smart.

“Human nature plays a part. But we don’t want things like that to haunt us,” Tatum said.

Smart, last season’s NBA Defensive Player of Year, finished with three steals and two blocks.

Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Trae Young added 16 points.

“You can’t be down that much and expect to come back and win,” Young said. “But we still fought. We were being aggressive in that second half.”

Despite Atlanta’s late push, the Celtics sizzled from all points on the floor, connecting on 13 3-pointers.

Michael Dwyer/Associated Press The Hawks’ Trae Young looks to pass in the first half during Game 1 vs. the Celtics on Saturday in Boston. Young had 16 points, but the Hawks were 5-for-29 from 3-point range.