NBA Playoffs: Celtics celebrate Game 1 win over Cavaliers behind big night from Jaylen Brown and Derrick White

Jaylen Brown prepared the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday night. Derrick White knocked them down.

In the end, the Boston Celtics had too much firepower for an inferior Cavaliers team. The Celtics earned a 120-95 victory in the first game of their second round of the playoffs.

Brown finished the game with 32 points while White hit seven 3-pointers en route to a 25-point performance. Donovan Mitchell countered with 33 points, but it wasn't nearly enough for a Cleveland team that was playing without starting center Jarrett Allen for the fourth straight game.

Led by Brown, the Celtics exited the gate with a 40-34 lead after a first quarter in which they didn't turn the ball over. Brown scored 15 points in the first quarter and had a 20-point lead in the first half as the Celtics led 59-49.

The third quarter belonged to White, who scored 14 points in the stanza, hitting four three-pointers. His seventh 3-pointer of the game extended Boston's lead to 87-72. Boston led 92-77 heading into the fourth period.

The Cavaliers didn't respond. Mitchell scored 16 in the third quarter, but that did nothing to slow the charge of an efficient Boston offense. The Celtics extended their lead early in the fourth period and did not allow the Cavaliers to threaten their lead. Cleveland forwent the white flag by retiring its starters and giving Boston a 115-89 lead with 3:42 left

Boston is thriving despite Jayson Tatum's bad night

Boston extended its lead from 3-point range and secured the overwhelming victory despite a poor shooting night from All-NBA forward Jayson Tatum. Boston has multiple weapons that can dominate the offense on any given night and is one of the few teams in the NBA that can hold its own against a tough opponent despite a bad night from its best player. Tuesday's win over Cleveland was a prime example.

Brown finished the game with 32 points, six rebounds and two assists while shooting 12 of 18 from the field and 4 of 6 from 3. White scored 25 points and five assists while shooting 9-of-16 from the field and 7-of-12 from long range. Tatum scored 18 points by shooting 7 of 19 from the field and missing all five of his 3-point attempts.

As a team, the Celtics shot 48.9% from the field and 39.1% (18 of 46) from 3-point range. They scored 120 points on 92 field goal attempts. They secured the comfortable win without injured forward Kristaps Porziņģis, who missed his second straight game due to a calf injury sustained in Round 1 against the Miami Heat.

The Cavs countered with a 41.1% shooting percentage from the floor and a 26.2% (11 of 42) performance from distance. They needed 90 field goal attempts to score 95 points. Mitchell added six rebounds and five assists and shot 12 of 25 from the field and 4 of 11 from 3-point range. Evan Mobley added 17 points and 13 rebounds, becoming the only Cleveland starter to shoot better than 50%, shooting 8 of 12 from the field.

Game 2 of the series is scheduled for Thursday night in Boston.