Celtics suddenly find themselves in dogfight
Hawks can even up series on home court
BOSTON — The Hawks’ first round playoff matchup with the Celtics just got real.
Trae Young’s pullup, 30-foot 3-pointer over Jaylen Brown in the closing seconds of Tuesday’s 119117 win in Game 5 whittled Boston’s series lead to 3-2.
The series is now headed back to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday (5:30 p.m., TNT), pushing a scheduled Janet Jackson concert at State Farm Arena back a day, and adding at least a dose of concern for a Celtics’ team that reverted to some bad habits that tripped it up on occasion during the regular season.
Though still on the verge of a second straight opening round exit, the Hawks have reason to be confident heading home because they will get back Dejounte Murray, who served a one-game suspension Tuesday for bumping official Gediminas Petraitis at the end of Game 4.
“I Facetimed him as soon as I got in the locker room,” Young said after Game 5 of Murray. “I told him to be ready. I told him before the game that we were going to take care of business so he can play in Atlanta.”
Murray’s presence will give Atlanta more scoring punch alongside Young, who had 38 points in Game 5 — his best of the series. Young has scored 30 points in each of the last three games. Also encouraging was the 22 points contributed by John Collins, his first double-digit effort since Game 1.
Brown called a fourth quarter in which the Celtics allowed a 12-0 run by the Hawks to tie the game “a disgrace.”
The extension of the series is good news for the awaiting Philadelphia 76ers, who will have even more time to rest before the start of the second round. That’s huge for star Joel Embiid, who is recovering from a sprained knee.
Derrick White said having a core group that experienced moments of adversity last season will be key in helping Boston bounce back.
“We’ve got a lot of guys in here that trust each other,” White said. “We’ve just got to lean on each other and get through this together.”
Young is expecting an energized effort from the Celtics in Atlanta. Matching it will be key.
“We’re still in an elimination phase,” Young said. “If we lose one, we’re done. So, we’ve got to keep that same energy and be ready to play when we get back home.”