Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports
Here's What Stood Out in Celtics' Win vs. Hawks: Largely Contained to the Mid-Range, Atlanta Can't Keep Pace with Boston
The Hawks entered Wednesday night ranked second in the NBA in mid-range makes per game. But with Boston limiting their impact from beyond the arc, Atlanta struggled to keep up with its visitors.
It didn't help that the Celtics drilled 21/46 (45.7 percent) of their threes and, despite playing short-handed, got 44 points from their second unit.
Now, for a deep dive into Boston's eighth-straight win.
Celtics' Defense Stymies Hawks' Offense by Forcing Them to Live in the Mid-Range
It was nice to see Derrick White looking for his shot at the start of the game, including driving, taking what the defense gave him, and going up for a layup that Al Horford cleaned up.
White buried a three from above the break shortly after that, giving Boston an early 9-5 lead.
At the 4:38 mark, Blake Griffin subbed in for the first time in an opening quarter this season. Griffin's started games, but he's never come off the bench in the first 12 minutes until tonight.
Trae Young's first shot didn't come until his second shift when he missed a floater with 4:06 remaining.
With 2:57 to go, Jayson Tatum came off a high-ball screen from Luke Kornet and delivered a no-look lob to Kornet for a reverse jam that extended the Celtics' advantage to 22-13.
At the 2:32 mark, Boston had only converted on three shots from beyond the arc, but two were wide-open looks for Sam Hauser.
He also swished one after running off a staggered screen. Young poorly navigated his way through traffic and got no help as he and his teammates watched Hauser drill a three to put Boston ahead 25-14.
With 1:37 left, Luke Kornet ended up on Trae Young, a mismatch one would expect to end with a bucket. But Kornet's length allowed him to play back, then close quickly and get a piece of Young's shot. Kornet continues to make a positive impact with his minutes.
Shortly after that, Payton Pritchard did well to win a race to a loose ball heading towards the sideline, leading to what should've been a fast-break jam for Tatum, but in Shaqtin' A Fool fashion, the ball slipped out of Tatum's hands as he went up for the slam.
While the quarter ended with Young making a floater for his first field goal, the Celtics outscored Atlanta 10-5 in the final three minutes, including a Pritchard three off a skip pass from Tatum, helping them take a 30-18 lead into the second frame.
As well as the Hawks typically shoot from the mid-range, Boston's forcing them to make their living from there. It's difficult to keep up even when shooting well from there; struggling to convert on those attempts is making it that much more challenging for Atlanta.
The hosts shot 33.3 percent from the field, 0/6 from beyond the arc, and they took ten of their 24 attempts from the mid-range; they went 4/10 on those looks.
Celtics' Second Unit Propels Boston to Halftime Lead
Justin Jackson started the second quarter for the short-handed Celtics, logging rare minutes for the North Carolina alum.
With 8:27 to play in the period, Kornet ended up on De'Andre Hunter at the right wing, bottled up his drive, then swatted Hunter's shot.
Two possessions later, Jackson thwarted a Dejounte Murray attempt off the drive.
But then came a 9-2 Hawks run, as they made a living at the basket. That burst included a pair of alley-oops to John Collins and an old-school three-point play by Hunter, who produced a layup plus tax after he got fouled.
Collins' second slam trimmed what was once a 16-point lead down to nine.
On the next Celtics' possession, Tatum got the ball matched up with Hunter in the mid-post. Rather than forcing the issue, he kicked the ball out to White, keeping the ball in motion. It ended up in the hands of Grant Williams in the left corner, and he up-faked, took a dribble toward the baseline, and swished a three that gave Boston a 50-38 advantage.
Scoring the Celtics' last six points of the quarter, Pritchard sent the visitors into the locker room on a high note, pulling up and burying a three from 29 feet to give Boston a 62-53 lead at halftime.
Pritchard and Hauser entered the break 3/3 from beyond the arc, contributing nine points apiece off the bench. Kornet, a fellow second-unit member, was also 3/3, providing the other six of the 24 points the Celtics got from their bench on a night they're short-handed.
Conversely, the Hawks' second unit tallied eight points in the first half.
Along with the Celtics' second unit stepping up, Williams drilled three of his six attempts from beyond the arc, registering nine points.
Meanwhile, Tatum entered the break with seven points on 3/13 shooting, including 1/8 from beyond the arc. Some of those threes came from him forcing the issue, trying to find a rhythm. That's not to say it's something to fault him for, but Boston could do a better job getting him higher-quality shots in the second half.
Playing in his home state, Brown had nine points on 4/11 shooting. He went 0/5 from long range, but produced six points in the paint, including a layup through four Atlanta defenders.
Celtics Heat Up from Beyond the Arc, Building 19-Point Lead Entering Final Frame
The Celtics came out firing in the third quarter, knocking down 4/5 threes, including three from the left wing; after Tatum cashed in on his second three of the night, Boston 74-61 with 7:59 remaining in the period, prompting Nate McMillan to take a timeout.
At the 6:42 mark, Horford perfectly timed his contest of a layup by Young, swatting it from behind. That led to a Williams layup at the other end.
About a minute later, beautiful ball movement led to a three for Horford from the left corner, extending the Celtics' run to 13-4 and giving the visitors an 81-65 lead.
The next time down the floor, Tatum attacked Murray from the low block, initiating contact, then spinning baseline for a layup. Boston would be wise to get Tatum more touches down low, especially on a night where he's struggling from beyond the arc.
On the Celtics' following possession, Kornet tipped in a missed layup by Tatum. With that, Boston had scored 11-straight points, pushing the lead to 85-65 with 4:36 to play in the quarter.
The Hawks responded with a 7-2 burst, including a Young floater after he got met with no resistance coming down the middle of the paint. He also buried a three and threw a lob to Collins, who elevated over Kornet for the flush, reducing the deficit to 87-71 with 2:47 left.
The frame ended with Williams displaying his improvement at making plays off the dribble, driving out of the right corner for a layup that gave the Celtics a 97-78 advantage entering the final 12 minutes.
Boston buried 7/12 three-point attempts in the third quarter.
Jaylen Brown Ensures Early Night for Celtics Starters
After two turnovers to start the frame, Atlanta grabbed three offensive rebounds the next time it got the ball. It took four shots, but the Hawks finally made the Celtics pay for not ending the possession as A.J. Griffin stepped into a mid-range jumper off the dribble.
That gave the hosts 12 offensive rebounds and 13 second-chance points. Still, Boston held a 99-82 lead with 10:03 to go. It also brought Horford to the scorer's table.
Continuing to close out Wednesday's win, Brown buried a pair of mid-range jumpers off the dribble and produced two layups, including one off a steal, extending the Celtics' advantage to 110-84 with 7:07 remaining. That also gave Brown 20 points.
And after Brown extended his team-high total to 22 points with another layup, Joe Mazzulla emptied the bench as the end of the rotation finished out Boston's 126-101 win.
In a second-straight game that reflected Tatum's ability to make an impact beyond his scoring, he registered 19 points, dished out eight assists, and grabbed seven rebounds in Wednesday's victory.
White, returning to the starting lineup for the short-handed Celtics was excellent, delivering 16 points on 6/11 shooting, including 2/4 from beyond the arc. He also led all players with ten assists.
The latter figure reflects White doing an outstanding job keeping the ball moving and consistently getting it to his teammates in a good position to score.
Collectively, Boston assisted on 29/48 (60.4 percent) of its field goals. Keeping the ball moving and everyone involved offensively played a pivotal role in the Celtics shooting 21/46 (45.7 percent) from beyond the arc.
That was also essential to the second unit contributing 44 points, including 15 from Hauser and 14 from Pritchard. The former drilled five of his six threes, while the latter went 4/6 from long range.
Boston also got 15 points from Kornet, who finished 7/7, doing nearly all of his damage at the rim but also knocking down a corner three in the final frame.
Up Next
The Celtics head to New Orleans for a Friday night showdown against the Pelicans. The game tips off at 8:30 pm EST. Inside The Celtics will have content related to the game coming out before, during, and after. And follow @BobbyKrivitsky on Twitter for updates and analysis from pregame to post.
Further Reading
This Eye-Popping Celtics Stat Will Certainly Blow Boston Fans' Minds
Blake Griffin's Advice to Marcus Smart Helped Lead Celtics to Win Monday
