Three Studs, Three Duds From Celtics’ Deflating Overtime Loss To Hawks
Coming off one of their best games of the season, the Boston Celtics couldn’t find a way to close out the Atlanta Hawks in a tight contest at TD Garden on Saturday night.
With Kristaps Porzingis (Left PTT return from injury management) and Al Horford (left big toe sprain) both unavailable for the game, Joe Mazzulla gave Luke Kornet the start, and the big man shot 5-for-7 for 12 points in the first half and finished with 17 points and seven rebounds across 30 minutes in Boston’s loss to fall to 29-13 on the season.
The Hawks hold a 2-1 series lead over the Celtics, having won two close games in Boston this season. Boston fell to 5-2 in back-to-back games and 2-2 in overtime this season.
Here are three studs and three duds from the Celtics’ 119-115 overtime loss to the Hawks:
STUDS
Trae Young
Young led all scorers with 28 points for the inconsistent Hawks. He was a perfect 5-for-5 from the free throw line and went 10-for-23 from the field.
The Atlanta star added 11 assists, four rebounds, two steals and two blocks in 39 minutes.
Jaylen Brown
The Celtics led the Hawks by 12 points at the end of the first quarter, with Brown’s nine points leading the way. Boston’s superstar kicked off his night with a three-pointer to open the scoring in the game.
Brown finished with 24 points on 9-for-26 shooting from the field, including a near-perfect night from the free throw line (4-for-5). He collected nine rebounds and dished out six assists to go with two steals in 43 minutes.
Payton Pritchard
Boston didn’t get much assistance off the bench; however, Pritchard did provide a sixth-man-like performance.
Pritchard delivered a reserve unit-leading 20 points, going 7-of-12 from the field, including four 3-pointers with six rebounds and one assist.
DUDS
Jayson Tatum
Tatum started the night off slow, going 1-for-4 in the first quarter and scoring his first basket with .03 seconds left in the opening frame.
He continued his off-night shooting, connecting on just seven of his 21 shots, for 23 points. He did collect eight rebounds and made three steals in his 43 minutes.
Sam Hauser
The normally efficient shooter went scoreless on 0-for-7 shooting, including five missed shots from beyond the arc across 20 minutes.
Boston’s Second And Fourth Quarter Defense
After outscoring the Hawks 33-21 in the first quarter, the Celtics couldn’t stop Atlanta’s comeback bid.
The Hawks responded with a 31-15 second quarter and outscored the Celtics 31-26 in the fourth quarter en route to their overtime win. Atlanta went 5-for-9 in the extra frame and collected eight boards, outrebounding the Celtics 55-53 in the game.