Celtics Dismantle Hawks 107-98

Recap

Just minutes into the nationally-broadcasted game and two stars of each team were in the locker room. First, Jaylen Brown of the Celtics turned his ankle when driving to the basket. Moments later, Trae Young tweaked his ankle after Marcus Smart fouled (flagrant one) him on a three-point attempt. Young quickly returned to the court, while Brown remained sidelined for the game.

The Hawks played with tremendous energy and took a 14-point lead into the first half. As we've seen before, the Celtics outscored the Hawks 31-13 in the third quarter, which seemingly broke the spirit of the Hawks. The Celtics second-ranked defense strangled the Hawks. Atlanta shot just 43.4% from the field and 22.6% from deep.

It's no surprise that Young led the Hawks with 31 points. Bogdan Bogdanovic continued his stellar play, as he provided 25 points off the bench. Perhaps no player struggled more than De'Andre Hunter, who shot 0-8 from the field and finished with just four points from free throws.

.@smart_MS3 ran the length of the floor to secure a clutch block in tonight's @JetBlue Play of the game ✋🏿 pic.twitter.com/XSieMtZMEP
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) March 2, 2022

After a slow start, Jayson Tatum could no longer be contained by the second half. The perennial All-Star forward erupted for 33 points. Other than that, nothing too special happened for the Celtics on the offensive end of the floor. Their defense won this game, and it's one of the reasons why both ESPN and FiveThirty Eight predict them as winners for Eastern Conference Finals.

Post-Game Interviews

Hawks head coach Nate McMillan said, "It felt like the last game here. Just they came out aggressive, looking to attack. I thought we got back on our heels, and you know we just settled for the long ball. We didn't attack."

When asked what was going on with De'Andre Hunter, McMillan took a more gentle tone. "Tonight, he couldn't find his shot. Guys go through periods where maybe the shot is not falling. A couple weeks ago, he was shooting the ball well... You have some games where you just don't have that rhythm and got to get in the gym and work on it."

Trae Young took to the podium in a black adidas zip-up jacket. The first question was about his ankle, which he said, "My ankle hurts right now. But I felt like with the pain tolerance, I could have played through it. I still feel pretty confident about my ability to play through pain. So I plan on playing through it."

Young remains undeterred in his vision for this team. "You put us in a series verse anybody, and we get to really analyze you. I feel like it's going to be tough to beat us, and we're not just an easy-out. I just want to be in the best position at the end of the year when it comes to that.

He continued, "Obviously, we got to win some more games to be in that position. But I feel like if we get guys back and get everyone healthy and on the same page, we're a dangerous team when we get guys going."

The Hawks next game is Thursday night in Atlanta against the Chicago Bulls. As always, we will keep you updated with breaking news, highlights, and analysis. Stay locked into Sports Illustrated's AllHawks.com.

Some lucky Celtics fans got their gear autographed by Jayson Tatum after pre-game warmups in TD Garden.

Shortly after the game started, Celtics guard Jaylen Brown went down with an ankle injury. Brown did not return to the game.

Former Hawks player Al Horford looked away as Trae Young laid on the floor after suffering a flagrant foul from Marcus Smart.

Did you really think Trae Young wasn't going to return to the game? 'Ice Trae' came back and finished the game despite being visibly injured.

Hawks center Clint Capela hangs on the rim after the dunk. The Celtics kept Capela in check with their second-ranked defense.

Stats

Hawks Leaders

Trae Young - 31 PTS, 6 AST

Bogdan Bogdanovic - 25 PTS, 4 REB

Danilo Gallinari - 12 PTS, 8 REB

Celtics Leaders

Jayson Tatum - 33 PTS, 8 REB, 7 AST

Grant Williams - 18 PTS, 7 REB

Derrick White - 18 PTS, 5 REB

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