Celtics-Hawks Player Grades: Pritchard Explodes, Tatum Finds a Way, Walsh Surprises

The Celtics got down big early, once again going through some tough shooting in the first quarter, but Payton Pritchard got blistering hot to help lead the Celtics, who were missing Jaylen Brown, past the Atlanta Hawks, 109-102.

Box Score

Game Flow

The Hawks came out hot and Boston struggled to hit three-pointers, leading to an early nine-point lead for Atlanta. Jalen Johnson got rolling and the lead grew to 25-9, thanks to an 18-2 run. The defense picked up out of the timeout, fueling a 10-0 run to get things close again. The extended run was 17-4, capped by Payton Pritchard’s buzzer-beating layup, and Boston went into the second down only three.

Payton Pritchard’s roll continued into the second quarter, fueling a 9-0 run to tie the game. The run grew to 15-3 and Boston took a lead, but the Hawks closed the quarter on a 17-9 run to go into the half up five. Pritchard had 12 in the quarter but Tatum was 0-7.

Pritchard checked in after a back-and-forth start to the third and hit a couple of three-pointers in a 9-0 run as Boston got the lead back. The lead grew to 15-2 as the lead got to five, which is where it settled after three. Pritchard put up another 13 in the third.

The Celtics started the fourth on a 6-2 spurt, opening up their biggest lead of the night. Tatum got going a little and it got to 11, though the Hawks answered again and got it back down to five. From there it was a battle, and Jayson Tatum ended up winning that battle at the free throw line on his way to 13 points to close the game out.

Here are three reasons they beat Atlanta.

Payton Pritchard was awesome (leading a whole bench effort)

He scored seven points over the last 83 seconds of the first quarter, then dropped 12 in the second and 13 in the third to give the Celtics the offensive punch they were missing without Brown.

His 36 points was part of a 55-18 bench advantage for the Celtics. That was critical on a night where Tatum was the only starter to score more than 10 points and even that came on 33% shooting.

The Celtics got on the offensive glass (as usual)

This has been the formula for the Celtics all season long. Crash the glass, win the possession battle, and let the math do the rest. Boston’s turnovers (16 for 20 Atlanta points) worked against them, but the offensive rebounding allowed them to get just enough shots to hold on. The Celtics won the second chance points 18-9, which is the only difference you need in a seven-point win. If it wasn’t for that, Atlanta would have run away with this game.

Jordan Walsh was great after a long stretch of not playing

The three blocked shots stand out in a great defensive effort for him. It’s impressive because he just came off six-straight DNP-CD’s. He came in and gave the Celtics incredible defense, a couple of offensive rebounds, and a couple of buckets.

Player Grades

Payton Pritchard: A (36 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists)

How about three offensive rebounds for Pritchard, the smallest guy on the floor?

“The points are one thing, but I thought the ball handling, handling the pressure, I thought the offensive rebounding … he had two offensive rebounds I think in the second half there that were huge for us,” Joe Mazzulla said. “So it's just those big-time plays for us. And he's not defined by scoring, so that helps us a lot when he does other things.”

Neemias Queta: B+ (5 points, 11 rebounds, 5 assists)

Queta has grown so much this season. His work on short rolls has been incredible, which helps him get to games like this where he is tied for the team lead in assists. His chemistry with Tatum is growing quickly.

Jordan Walsh: B+ (5 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 3 blocks)

This is a special Celtics team, in part, because guys regularly contribute after losing their roles.

“Games call for toughness and physicality. It's something that he brings,” Mazzulla said. “It's a credit to him, the professionalism to stay ready over the course of a season says a lot about him, and I thought he gave us some great minutes tonight, great energy and great physicality.”

Jayson Tatum: B (26 points, 12 rebounds, 5 assists)

The B comes from 33% shooting overall and 25% from three. He had two turnovers in the box score but a few more fumbles along the way that just threw the timing off on some plays.

At the same time, he didn’t look great and he put up 26 and 12. Do you know good you have to be for people to say “eh, he wasn’t his best” and have that be a 26 and 12 night?

“I know I look rusty, I know I made some mistakes, but one thing that I do know is that I'm playing my ass off,” Tatum said in his walkoff interview. “I'm trying as hard as I can. I'm a little winded, but 10 and a half months after tearing my Achilles, I'm giving it all I got, and I know each game I'm gonna get a little bit better, but I'm trying for sure.”

Luka Garza: B+ (11 points, 4 rebounds, 2 assists)

He didn’t play a ton (15:03), but he was his typical self, working hard for offensive rebounds, getting a couple of free throws and drilling a three.

Sam Hauser: B (10 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists)

A generally solid night. Nothing notable.

Baylor Scheierman: C+ (3 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists)

A team-worst -13, but he worked his butt off and half his boards were on the offensive end. He wasn’t terrible, but he was on the floor for some of the worst stretches of basketball. Those long, athletic Hawks wings are tough for him.

Derrick White: D (10 points, 4 rebounds, 5 assists)

Well, sometimes guys are going to have tough nights. White shot 3-13, missed all four of his threes, turned it over three times, and committed five fouls. Just one of those nights where you go home, crack a beer, and stare blankly at the TV for a while.