Garden Party: Who are we to complain?

After the Bruins notched a pretty stunning upset win in Florida on Monday night, the Celtics pieced together an uncomplicated, straightforward victory over the Cavaliers in their own Game 1 on Tuesday.

And we really mean straightforward. It was a playoff win with the vibe of, like, a random Tuesday night game in February. But hey, if the Celtics want to make things easy, who are we to complain?

Jaylen Brown was brilliant with an efficient 32 points, Derrick White chipped in with a huge third-quarter flurry, and the Cavaliers never really threatened.

There’s still plenty to go over, both after the Celtics’ win and ahead of the Bruins’ Game 2 against the Panthers tonight.

Let’s get into it.

The Celtics were absolutely dominant in Game 1 over the Cavaliers, opening up a double-digit lead early in the second quarter that was never really in danger as they cruised to a 120-95 win at TD Garden.

Brown was the lead driver of the offense with a hyper-aggressive approach, but White had the best sequence of the night as he started raining stepback 3-pointers in the third quarter. This behind-the-back bomb drew one of the loudest roars of the night.

As the Managing Director of Derrick White Propaganda here at Garden Party, the “Der-rick White!” chants from the Garden crowd were a real personal win for me.

Jayson Tatum had a rough night, and it made no difference; Cavaliers star Donovan Mitchell led all scorers, and that also made no difference. Good luck with that, Cleveland.

As the Celtics took care of business, the second round continued elsewhere in the NBA and NHL. Here’s what you need to know:

• 🏀 The Thunder put together a convincing Game 1 win of their own out West, beating the Mavericks, 117-95, behind 29 points from Shai Gilgeous-Alexander. Dallas star Luka Doncic had a rough night similar to Tatum’s, with 19 points on 6-of-19 shooting.
• 🏀 Nuggets star Jamal Murray was fined $100,000 for throwing a towel and a heating pad at a referee and onto the floor in a Game 2 loss to the Timberwolves. Too light a punishment, perhaps?
• 🏀 Minnesota’s Rudy Gobert won his fourth Defensive Player of the Year award, tied for the league record, a day after having his first child. If Gobert gets the same new dad boost Brandon Carlo did, the Nuggets may never score again.
• 🏒 In the other Eastern Conference semifinal, the Rangers beat the Hurricanes, 4-3, in a double-overtime thriller in Game 2. Alexis Lafreniere scored twice for New York, Vincent Trocheck potted the winner, and Rangers Captain Jacob Trouba tried really, really hard to remove Martin Necas’s head from his body.
• 🏒 The Avalanche and Stars kept everyone up late before Colorado took a 4-3 win in overtime. Miles Wood scored at 11:03 in the extra frame after the Avalanche rallied past a 3-0 deficit. Game 2 in that series is Thursday.
• 🏒 The Sharks received the top pick in the NHL Draft Lottery, which means BU phenom Macklin Celebrini is likely off to San Jose — the bigger question will be when he makes the jump.

Up next: The Bruins are back in action tonight in Game 2 down in Florida, taking on the Panthers at 7:30 p.m. Conor Ryan has your preview. The Celtics host the Cavaliers for Game 2 on Thursday night back at TD Garden at 7 p.m. Both games are on ESPN.

Amin: That was a very convincing Game 1 for the Celtics, who looked a different class from Cleveland. Do the Cavaliers have much of a chance to make this competitive, and where do you think the weak points could be for the Celtics in this series?

Khari: I think the Cavs could steal one game based on Donovan Mitchell’s scoring ability alone. He’s been on a tear recently, and Wednesday night was no different. He scored 33 points on 12-of-25 shooting in Game 1 and scored 39 or more in both Game 6 and 7 against the Magic.

The problem for Cleveland is it doesn’t appear that Mitchell is going to consistently get enough help to keep things competitive with the Celtics. Boston is too deep, even with Porzingis out, to let this series go longer than six games at a maximum.

As for the Celtics’ weak points, Jayson Tatum is in a shooting slump. Boston needs him to be better.

Ignore the rain in the Boston area. We’ve got your plans for your next TD Garden pregame.

Night Shift is opening its beer gardens today, and they’ve got a new addition right near South Station on the Greenway, joining their locations on the Esplanade near the Hatch Shell and in Allston, at Herter Park.

There’s nothing better than a frosty pour enjoyed right next to the Charles River. And better yet: Night Shift is aiming to get food trucks on site at all three locations every day they’re open.

On tap will be Night Shift’s classic IPAs, among them the Santilli and the Whirlpool. But my personal favorite? Their Garden Party pilsner, which is light, refreshing, and the perfect sip before a big game.

They’re also selling their hard seltzer, wine, and a number of non-alcoholic options, like Athletic Brewing beverages, and even Night Shift’s own cold-brew coffee if you need a pick-me-up before a late tip.

All three locations will be open Wednesday through Sunday for now, serving as late as 10 p.m. on weekend nights. One word of advice: These places get busy. If you’re trying to get to the Esplanade location on a warm, sunny afternoon, you might have to wait in line — it’s often at capacity. But if you get there early enough (your pup can come, too!) you should be able to stake out space to have a lovely time. Get updates on schedule changes from Night Shift on Instagram. — Katie McInerney

Does your business have something exciting happening for the playoffs? Email us at gardenparty@globe.com 🎉

You know what’s been fun? All the shenanigans of the Knicks’ Villanova trio of Jalen Brunson, Josh Hart, and Donte DiVincenzo.

All Brunson seems to do these days is score — he’s had at least 40 in four straight playoff games — and all Hart and DiVincenzo seem to do is annoy their All-Star teammate as much as possible.

When a reporter mentioned that Brunson’s fourth straight 40-point playoff performance made him the first player to do so since Michael Jordan on Monday, Brunson gave DiVincenzo about a quarter of a second to get his jokes out before shutting him down.

The following day, Brunson had only kind words for his pals, telling the media: “If you know my friends, you should know that they’re all [a word I can’t write in this very PG newsletter].”

To be clear, it’s all love, and they’ve been at this for years. Hart and Brunson were roommates at Villanova and host a podcast together, where the potshots seemingly never end.

Ah, male friendships. Nothing like it.

Adam Himmelsbach’s observations from Game 1

The sentiment entering these playoffs was that the Celtics were unlikely to face a real challenge until perhaps the Eastern Conference finals. And Game 1 of this conference semifinal against the Cavaliers did little to diminish that belief. Read more here.

Gasper: On a night he struggled, Jayson Tatum’s talented Celtics teammates picked him up

The rest of the Eastern Conference teams should swap scouting reports for prayer hymnals. If the Celtics are going to play like this on a night when Jayson Tatum was a mere mortal and Kristaps Porzingis was an injury absence then supplication might be the best play. Check out the full story from Christopher L. Gasper here.

Sullivan: Oh baby, what a day for Brandon Carlo

Babies know nothing from playoffs. When they decide it’s time to enter the world, they are going to enter the world. When those realities intersect, and a player in the midst of a playoff run learns that a baby is about to arrive, a decision has to be made. Brandon Carlo made the right one Monday. And in supporting him every step of the way, the Bruins did too. Tara Sullivan has more.

Amin Touri can be reached at amin.touri@globe.com.