After losing the first two games of the series in Atlanta, the Boston Celtics got out to a large lead during the first half, going up 57-40. Atlanta made solid halftime adjustments though, rallying back during the 3rd quarter to make the game a battle going into the final frame. The Hawks took their first lead since the beginning of the game with 9 minutes remaining, but from that point on, the Celtics simply played better basketball. In the last 9 minutes of the game, the Celtics outscored the Hawks 25-18, and they went on to win the game 111-103. The win brings the series score to 2-1 Atlanta.
Isaiah Thomas was lighting it up tonight as he dropped 42 points on 12-24 shooting including 5 for 13 from three and 13 for 15 from the free throw line. Jonas Jerebeko was the only player with a double-double tonight, scoring 11 points and grabbing 12 rebounds.
Atlanta had plenty of players with 20+ points on the night, but they were not able to win. Kent Bazemore and Dennis Schroeder both scored 20 points, and Jeff Teague led the way for the team with 23 points. Atlanta typically lives and dies by their big men though, and Al Horford and Paul Millsap both had 8 points on the night. Horford did have a great defensive game though, blocking 4 shots and grabbing 10 defensive rebounds.
Overall, the Celtics played a great game. This series is a little bit closer now, and Thomas and the rest of the Celtics will play extremely hard next game to try and even up this series before going back to Atlanta.
