The Atlanta Hawks came into Wednesday’s game against the Celtics ranked 29th in the league for defensive rating, and it showed as Boston cruised to a 125-117 victory. The Hawks were missing star guard Dejounte Murray who is usually their defensive anchor in the backcourt, which didn’t help their case. Despite their issues defensively, their offence – centred around PG Trae Young – is exciting and caused some early problems for the Celtics’ defence. But Boston’s defensive effort improved significantly after they returned from the half time break, and their offense never slowed down. Kristaps Porzingis scored 31 points on 68% shooting, closely followed by both Jayson Tatum and Derrick White who both scored 20+ to help Boston gain consecutive home wins.
If you are a fan of high scoring, entertaining, offensive basketball then the first quarter of this one was definitely for you. Both sides traded buckets and showed no signs of cooling off throughout the first period. Atlanta forward Saddiq Bey proved to be a thorn in Boston’s side yet again in the regular season, he had a superb game offensively, and finished the game with 25 points, 9 rebounds and 4 made 3-point shots.
Things settled down in the 2nd quarter as the Celtics really started to expose the Hawks interior defence. The Hawks were without big man Clint Capela and their lack of size made it easy for Boston to score at will inside. Porzingis in particular preyed upon the switches from the Hawks on defence, continually punishing the smaller defenders, showing exactly why he is one of the most prolific post scorers in the NBA.
The third quarter provided an even battle, as both teams cooled off after their hot start, especially from beyond the arc. Jaylen Brown did an excellent job of scoring inside the paint as well as in the mid-range (after missing Monday night’s game against Memphis), he shot 78% from inside the 3-point line and had some lovely finishes around the rim. However, he did continue his unusually poor streak of shooting from 3-point range, as he is currently just 1/15 on shoots from behind the arc in his last four outings.
In the fourth Boston did what they do best and closed out yet another win. Derrick White once again made multiple timely defensive plays and shots down the stretch to help the Celtics to the victory. White finished with 21 points, 7 assists, and 6 rebounds to spur Boston on to their 24th home win of the season.
After the game Boston Center Al Horford spoke about Boston’s offensive capabilities via ESPN: “When we’re playing like that and we’re moving it like that, I just think that puts us in a different dimension offensively”. “We have so many weapons out there that it becomes very tough to defend us”. Boston will play the final game of their homestand on Friday night, looking to become the first team in the NBA to 40 wins this season.
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