The Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks went to war. In the end, only one team could prevail, and that came in the form of Jayson Tatum and the Celtics. It was a hard-fought battle, though, which is why the Boston superstar just had to give Trae Young some props after the final buzzer of Game 6.

Tatum and Young shared a heartfelt moment right after the Celtics clinched their spot in the second round of the NBA Playoffs:

You can clearly see how much respect these two stars have for each other. They came up with another epic duel on Thursday night, too.

Tatum went off for 30 points on 11-of-20 shooting, to go along with four triples, 14 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks, a steal, and zero turnovers in 40 minutes of action. Trae Young held his own in this do-or-die game, scoring a team-high 30 points on 9-of-28 from the floor, with four treys, three rebounds, 10 assists, a steal, and two blocks.

It would be interesting to learn about what Tatum and Young had to say to each other. I'm pretty sure there was a lot of mutual respect in that brief conversation, with these two Eastern Conference stars well aware of the fact that they will have many more battles against each other ahead.

Right now, though, it's the Hawks that go home and the Celtics who will proceed to the next round. Their prize is a date with Joel Embiid and the Philadelphia 76ers with Game 1 scheduled for Monday night.