I still have my doubts whether the Celtics can consistently focus and play enough defense to win an NBA title this postseason but at least they got back untracked tonight with a 129-121 victory over the Hawks at State Farm Arena. This should have been the close out game of an easy first round sweep but Boston messed that up by somehow losing to Atlanta 130-122 in Game 3 on Friday. Oh well, the gentleman's sweep should be completed on Tuesday (7:30, NBC Sports Boston) back at TD Garden. The Celtics' two stars showed up in a major way as small forward Jayson Tatum (7 rebounds, 3 blocks) and shooting guard Jaylen Brown both scored a team-high 31 points. The Hawks' lone star point guard Trae Young had by far his best outing of the series with a game-high 35 points, 15 assists and two steals but shucks, it was not enough to tie up this pointless series.
Boston came out with a purpose in the first quarter as they took a 35-25 lead. They still were up by double digits heading into halftime (65-53) after point guard Marcus Smart's (19 points) late three-pointer. Atlanta made its push in the third quarter (34-27) but the C's did just enough to hold on in the fourth quarter (37-34). That essentially ended this series since pretty much nobody rallies from a 3-1 hole in the NBA playoffs which is rather pathetic but mostly true.
The Green are far deeper than the Hawks as shown by the fact that three other guys scored in double figures: shooting guard Derrick White (18 points) along with point guard/Sixth Man of The Year Malcolm Brogdon (14 points) and center Robert Williams (13 points, game-high 15 rebounds, 2 steals, 2 blocks) who were both great off of the bench. Center Al Horford played 34 minutes, took two shots that he missed but still had a real impact with 11 rebounds, five assists and two steals. Small forward De'Andre Hunter added 27 points and seven rebounds for Atlanta while shooting guard Dejounte Murray notched 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists. Center Clint Capela (10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals) was the only other Hawk to reach double digits.
With injuries to Giannis and Joel Embiid already, the Eastern Conference playoff picture is really beginning to open up in Boston's favor which makes it so important for them to eliminate an inferior opponent like Atlanta ASAP. Philadelphia-who they completely own-awaits them in a second round series that could start as soon as Saturday. The Celtics shot eight percent better from the field (51%-43%), they grabbed seven more rebounds (49-42), they scored 12 more points in the paint (56-44) and 10 more fast break points (18-8). If I know anything about a hapless franchise like the Hawks, they will barely show up for Game 5 and Boston will blow their doors off while we all get loose on Canal Street. Ideally, the Celts can build up a big lead on Tuesday allowing their starters and key bench guys to not have to play big minutes to get this done.
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