Well, this was by far the ugliest game of the season. The Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks faced off in Atlanta on Tuesday night, and it was a very low-scoring affair, particularly for the losing team. The Celtics were short-handed, playing without Avery Bradley(hamstring) and Kelly Olynyk(shoulder). Marcus Smart started the game in the backcourt with Isaiah Thomas in place of Bradley.
This game was a blowout from start to finish. The Hawks started the game hot(made five of first six threes) and Boston was ice cold. The Hawks jumped out to a 24-3 lead in the first quarter, and ended the quarter up 24-7.
In the second quarter, the Celtics found a bit of a scoring punch in Evan Turner and Amir Johnson, but never quite managed to climb within single digits. Turner and Johnson would go on to be the only reliable scoring options for the rest of night for a Celtics team that remained ice cold. The Celtics only scored 28 points in the first half, compared to the Hawks’ total of 43. The Celtics shot an atrocious 13/45(29%) in the first half.
The Celtics never got back into the game. A mix of stellar Atlanta defense and poor Boston offense led to a Hawks victory, 89-72. The Celtics shot 28-88(31.8%) from the field, and 5-28(17.9%) on three-pointers. Atlanta shot a very subpar 39% from the field, but that was more than enough in this game.
Kyle Korver was on fire for the Hawks, knocking down five of his first six three-pointers, and finishing with a game-high 17 points on 6/9 shooting, including 5/7 from deep, to go with seven rebounds. Paul Millsap could never get it going on offense –four points on 1-12 shooting from the field and 0-5 shooting from long range– but had a major impact on the defensive end, swatting four shots.
Amir Johnson had a solid game for the Celtics, posting 14 points and eight rebounds on 6-11 shooting. Evan Turner was a source of some offense off the bench, scoring 12 points on 5-12 shooting. All in all, though, the Celtics couldn’t score to save their lives. Jae Crowder finished with two points on 1-9 shooting. Marcus Smart scored three points on 1-11 shooting. Isaiah Thomas had a team-high 16 points, but shot 4-15 and just 1-6 from deep.
One (somewhat) bright spot for Boston was the play of Louisville rookie Terry Rozier, who scored a career high ten points, grabbed four rebounds, and knocked down two three-pointers in three attempts.
The Hawks blocked a total of 15 shots in the game, setting a franchise record for most in a playoff game.
The Hawks now hold a 2-0 series lead, and will play games three and four in Boston. The Hawks have never lost a playoff series after leading 2-0.
Game three will take place April 22 in Boston at 8 PM ET. It is set to air on ESPN 2.
