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(Sports Network) - The top-seeded Boston Celtics and fourth-seeded Cleveland Cavaliers square off tonight at TD Banknorth Garden in Game 1 of their best- of-seven Eastern Conference semifinals series.

This is the fourth time these teams have met in the postseason. Boston defeated the Cavaliers in six games, 4-2, in the 1976 East finals, and in four contests, 3-1, in the first round of the 1985 playoffs. Cleveland knocked out the Celtics in seven games in the 1992 East semis.

Game 2 of this series is scheduled for Thursday in Beantown.

Boston has made it to the East semis for the first time since 2003. That year, the Celtics were swept by the New Jersey Nets, 4-0. The last time the Celtics won in this round was in 2002 when they knocked out Detroit in five, 4-1, before losing to the Nets in the East finals, 4-2.

The Celtics survived a scare in the opening round, as they knocked out the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks in seven games. The home team won every game in the series. Boston won its four contests by an average of 25.3 points.

In Game 7 against Atlanta, Paul Pierce scored 22 points and pulled down eight rebounds as Boston routed the Hawks, 99-65, at TD Banknorth Garden. Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett added 18 points and 11 rebounds in the victory.

Pierce averaged 18.0 points, 4.6 rebounds and 4.7 assists in the quarterfinals, while Garnett led the team in scoring (21.0 ppg) and rebounding (8.9 rpg). All-Star guard Ray Allen contributed 16.1 points and shot 40 percent (18-for-45) from beyond the arc.

Twenty-two-year-old point guard Rajon Rondo had a solid showing in his first NBA playoff action. The Kentucky product averaged 11.6 points, 4.1 rebounds and a team-best 7.3 assists per game versus Atlanta.

Doc Rivers finished his fourth season as the general for the Celtics, and has led Boston to the postseason for the second time. The Celtics fell in seven games in the 2005 first round to the Pacers. Rivers is coaching in his fifth postseason, as he also guided the Magic to the playoffs three times during his tenure in Orlando. He owns a 12-17 record in the playoffs.

The Cavaliers, who are the defending Eastern Conference champions, are 3-2 all-time in the semifinals. They defeated the Washington Bullets in 1976, Boston in 1992 and New Jersey in 2007. Cleveland lost in the semis to Chicago in 1993 and Detroit in 2006.

Superstar LeBron James had a huge opening round, as the Cavaliers knocked the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards out of the playoffs, 4-2, for the third straight year. James led the team in scoring (29.8 ppg), rebounds (9.5 rpg) and assists (7.7 apg) in the six games against the Wizards. The All-Star forward shot 48.3 percent from the floor, including 29 percent from beyond the arc.

Center Zydrunas Ilgauskas posted 14.5 points and 7.3 rebounds per game versus Washington, while Daniel Gibson, Wally Szczerbiak and Delonte West were effective from the perimeter and made big shots at crucial times.

The sharp-shooting Gibson registered 11.8 points per contest and shot an impressive 50 percent (15-for-30) from beyond the arc, while Szczerbiak netted 11.8 and West averaged 10.2 points and 5.0 assists in the first round.

Head coach Mike Brown, who completed his third campaign on the Cleveland bench, continues to do a great job for the Cavaliers. Brown, who earned a championship ring as an assistant with San Antonio in 2003, is 23-16 in the postseason.

During the regular season, the Celtics and Cavaliers split four contests. Both teams won a pair of games on their homecourt.