Jayson Tatum scored 50 points to lift the Boston Celtics back into their NBA play-off series against the Brooklyn Nets with a 125-119 home win on Friday night.

Tatum's play-off career-high return helped Boston recover after the Nets built a 15-point lead early on, cutting Brooklyn's lead to 2-1 in the best-of-seven series.

Marcus Smart chipped in with 23 points for Boston, while Tristan Thompson contributed 19 points and 13 rebounds.

James Harden led the Nets with 41 points while Kevin Durant had 39.

The Los Angeles Clippers pulled back a game to trail the Dallas Mavericks 2-1 in their series, winning 118-108.

Kawhi Leonard scored 36 points and Paul George provided 29 as the Clippers made it 3-0 for the away sides in this series, coming back from a strong early start by the Mavericks, who led 30-11.

Luka Doncic led Dallas with 44 points, a post-season personal best.

The Atlanta Hawks pulled ahead of the New York Knicks 2-1 with a 105-94 victory.

Trae Young shook off the drama of being spat on by a spectator in New York in game two to lead the Hawks with 21 points and 14 assists, while Clint Capela registered 13 points and 12 rebounds.

Derrick Rose scored 30 points for the Knicks while Julius Randle finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds.