Hawks dig deep hole with terrible shooting
BOSTON — After a series opener that went from a rout in the making to a flirtation with catastrophe, the Boston Celtics got both a win and an early reminder of how lulls could spell doom in the NBA playoffs.
Jaylen Brown had 29 points and 12 rebounds, and the Celtics capitalized on a woeful shooting performance by the Atlanta Hawks to hold on for a 112-99 victory Saturday and tip off an Eastern Conference firstround matchup.
Jayson Tatum scored 25 points — 21 in the first half — as did Derrick White, who also grabbed 11 rebounds for the second-seeded Celtics, who will host again Tuesday when the best-of-seven series resumes.
“We expect to get their best shot,” Brown said of the seventh-seeded Hawks, who finished the regular season 41-41 and won in the play-in tournament to reach the playoffs. “We let them get a little more comfortable in the second half, so I expect the next game for them to be a little more prepared. So we’ve got to be a little more prepared as well.”
It was Brown’s first game since missing the final two of the regular season with a cut on a finger on his shooting hand. He played with tape and wrap — and through pain — hitting on 12 of 23 field-goal attempts but committing six turnovers. He said it was hard to grip the basketball and that his hand “split open” at one point. It will be examined Sunday.
Boston led by as many as 32 points, pouncing on the Hawks as they missed their first 10 3-point attempts and shot 5-of-29 from beyond the arc for the game. However, Atlanta used a 32-12 run to cut its deficit to 96-84 on a three-point play by Bogdan Bogdanovic early in the fourth quarter.
The Celtics got the lead back up to 107-87. It was 110-97 with less than two minutes to play when Atlanta’s De’Andre Hunter got free on a fast break, but his layup attempt was blocked by Marcus Smart.
“Human nature plays a part. But we don’t want things like that to haunt us,” Tatum said.
Smart, the league’s NBA defensive player of year for the 2021-22 season, finished with three steals and two blocks.
Dejounte Murray led the Hawks with 24 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Trae Young added 16 points for Atlanta, which outscored Boston 31-20 in the third quarter.
“You can’t be down that much and expect to come back and win,” Young said. “But we still fought. We were being aggressive in that second half.”
Despite Atlanta’s late push, the Celtics sizzled from all points on the floor, connecting on 13 3s. After dropping in his third 3 in the closing seconds of the first half, Tatum spread his arms out wide as he backed down the court to an ovation from the TD Garden crowd.
A big part of Boston’s game plan coming in was neutralizing Young and Murray, Atlanta’s top two scorers. The Celtics did that and a lot more in the first three quarters. Young missed his first six shots beyond the arc and was 5-of-18 from the field. Murray was 10-of-25 from the floor.
In a move to match Atlanta’s speed, Boston went small with its lineup, starting White instead of big man Robert Williams in a lineup alongside Al Horford, Tatum, Brown and Smart. It seemed to neutralize the Hawks’ attack.
Young had an especially rough start. On the first possession of the game, he had a pass stolen by Brown; his first shot was blocked by White on the way to missing his first six attempts from the field.
Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said before the game a point of emphasis would be not to turn down open 3s or be deterred by misses. That wish was tested as the Hawks shot 9-of-25 from the field in the opening period and 0-for-9 from beyond the arc as the Celtics took a 29-19 lead.
Young’s 28-footer early in the second quarter was Atlanta’s first made 3 of the game. The visitors 1-of-16 from long range in the first half.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said he’s not worried about his team’s late-game malaise carrying over.
“I’m not concerned at all,” he said. “This team has played great for the entire season. That’s going to happen. It’s actually good that we went through it. We had to feel that, and it’s important that we learn from it.”
Seats in the arena were draped with T-shirts that read “Unfinished Business,” a reference to Boston’s run last season that came up just short as the Golden State Warriors beat the Celtics in six games in the NBA Finals. The “I” and “S” in unfinished were both highlighted, with the “S” fashioned to look like an “8,” a nod to the recordbreaking 18th NBA title being sought by Boston.