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Celtics Discuss Difference-Maker in Game 6 vs. Hawks: 'In the Playoffs, You've Got Basketball, You've Got Execution, And Then You've Got This Like Fight That's Kind of Going On'
Game 6 between the Celtics and Hawks was a slugfest. Atlanta entered the final frame of Thursday's high-scoring affair with a 100-98 lead. With four minutes left, both teams had produced 113 points.
Forced to elevate its play or risk the series extending to a winner-take-all Game 7, Boston met the moment, delivering a haymaker in crunch time.
The defending Eastern Conference champions staged an 11-0 run to pull ahead by eight on a Jayson Tatum put-back slam with 2:07 left. They ended the game on an 18-7 burst, closing the contest and the series with a 128-120 win.
After the victory, Celtics' head coach Joe Mazzulla shared his perspective on what made the difference down the stretch.
"I think it was just our pace on the offensive end. I thought last game, because of me and my play calling, we played slow. I thought this game, I kind of learned from that, and then they were very proactive," adding, "Playing fast doesn't mean playing helter-skelter, it's just we got organized really fast, we got spaced fast, we found the advantage fast, and we made the right play."
As detailed in a film study examining the roots of Boston's fourth-quarter collapse in Game 5, its pace of play was one of the factors at the center of the Celtics not finishing this series on Tuesday.
But Mazzulla, the NBA's youngest active head coach (34 years old), who's quick to take accountability, is proving a quick study as he learns on the fly.
The defending Eastern Conference champions being at their best when operating up-tempo is easy to diagnose, but having to recalibrate defensive strategy as John Collins heated up from beyond the arc, burying 4/9 threes in Game 5 and 3/4 on Thursday, and Trae Young's carving up their drop coverage, is far more challenging.
But Boston answered, locking down the Hawks' offense in the final five minutes, limiting them to seven points on 2/9 shooting in the clutch.
Post-game, Jaylen Brown, who registered a game-high 32 points, spoke about Atlanta bringing out the best in the Celtics, refusing to back down or go quietly, pushing Boston to raise its play at both ends to survive Round 1 of the playoffs.
"The way I describe it is in the playoffs, you've got basketball, you've got execution, and then you've got this like fight that's kind of going on. And Atlanta, they might not have had all the X's and O's, but they fought; they fought us. They offensive rebounded. They played hard. They (had) good effort. They used their athleticism. They didn't back down from no challenges. And that's what we needed to step up was the fight of the game, and that's what we had to match, that intensity in the last couple of minutes down the line."
Tatum, who finished with 30 points, a game-high 14 rebounds, a team-best seven assists, two blocks, and a steal, also addressed the Hawks' presenting more of a challenge than many anticipated.
"I know the narrative of 'we supposed to sweep them' or 'it's supposed to be a cakewalk.' But the playoffs is -- that's why it's so special: each game is different (and) each series is different. And I would say up to this point, the playoffs hasn't went what everybody would expect. There's been some high-level basketball being played by individual players and teams and great coaching.
"It was a great test for us; they definitely tested us, coming here in this environment. And they had the utmost confidence throughout this game, and you could see it: the way they played, the shots that they was hitting, the crowd was into it; that was a fun game to be a part of and a fun game to win."
Further Reading
Jayson Tatum Shares His Perspective on Bucks' First-Round Exit
Film Room: Roots of Celtics' Game 5 Fourth Quarter Collapse
Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Game 5 Loss vs. Hawks: Boston Talks the Talk but Doesn't Walk It
[Film Room] Derrick White's Assertiveness Leads to 26 Points, MVP Chants as Celtics Take 2-0 Lead
