The Boston Celtics hosted the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night at TD Garden. Boston was without Neemias Queta for the game due to an illness, and Rookie Amari Williams got his second starting nod of the season. Boston struggled to match the hot shooting Hawks who went 18/42 from three as they led from start to finish to beat Boston 117-106. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics in scoring with 21 points, but the team racked up 16 turnovers and were on their heels all night long.
With Williams starting in place
of the injured Queta, he was joined by Hauser, Pritchard, White and Brown in the starting lineup. Both teams traded buckets early in the opening four minutes of the first quarter. The visiting Hawks were the more accurate team at the first timeout up 12-5, shooting 55% on an early 10-0 run. Payton Pritchard and Sam Hauser hit their first shots of the game, before Boston stalled out shooting just 2-7 after a few scoreless offensive trips.
Luka Garza would return to action midway through the opening quarter, as he was the first man off the bench for Boston. Jaylen Brown hit a turnaround step-back fading jumper over Corey Kispert for his first score of the game. Brown had a huge block on Luke Kennard, but the ball boggled loose and Kennard regained the ball to drain a corner triple. Atlanta were on a 18-2 run in the first quarter, up by 13 points, 7-20.
Everything was going right for Atlanta in the first quarter, as Dyson Daniels hit his first three of the game, as the Australian defensive wizard is just 12% from three on the season. The Boston Celtics were ice cold in the first quarter, going just 3-13 to start the contest.
Anfernee Simons injected some life late in the first hitting 8 points in 3 minutes for Boston to close the quarter, Boston down big early after one quarter, 18-38. Boston’s lowest quarter point total all season.
Boston were scoreless in the painted area to start the game, Luka Garza finally hit a bucket inside to start the second quarter. Hauser splashed home his first triple of the game, Boston’s third three from twelve attempts. Boston started the second quarter outscoring the Hawks 7-2, cutting the lead to 15 points.
Luka Garza kept the ball alive and grabbed an offensive board, Sam Hauser calmly walked into another swished three-pointer, this time from the corner. Garza continued to be a force inside for Boston, he had 4 quick points running the court for the C’s off the bench in his return to action. Brown and Pritchard had back-to-back layups to cut it to 14 points. McCollum and Kispert hit a pair of triples to push the Atlanta lead back out to 22 points.
Brown hit a fadeaway for his tenth point of the game on 4-13 from the field, Derrick White splashed home a pullup jumper to cut it back to 14 points. The HAwks managed to keep the Celtics at arm’s length in the second quarter, at the half it would be, Atlanta 60 to Boston 46.
Boston registered 9 turnovers in the first half and Atlanta was on fire from deep. Boston registered two more quick turnovers to start the 3rd quarter. The Atlanta lead stretching back to 20 points. JB took an earlier than scheduled seat as Joe Mazzulla looked for a spark from the bench.
The bench mob for Boston came to play int he third as Scheierman, Walsh, Simons provided a small ball lineup spark. The bench got the game back to 59-75 with seven and a half minutes to go in the third.
Late third quarter play of the scrappy bench unit saw Boston climb back into the game, Scheierman got hit hard from Okungwu on a drvie to the basket and the play was reviewed to see if it was a flagrant. A possible Jalen Johnson fourth foul was overturned as the Celtics fouls rained down boos onto the referees. Baylor Scheierman was the spark plug for Boston in the third which Boston ended, down 11 points 76-87, Boston outscoring the Hawks in the quarter.
Hugo Gonzalez rattled in a corner three, but got caught looking to steal a pass, as McCollum slipped in for the easy layup. Altanta got the lead back out to 15 points with 9 minutes to go in the game. Pritchard’s baseline shot over Okongwu was matched by an Alexander-Walker triple. The Hawks shooting it just under 50% from downtown, on 16-33 threes compared to Boston shooting a poor 25% from three with 5 miniutes to go in the game.
Brown elbowed Okongu in the face and he had to go the change rooms, Dyson Daniels had a tip-in dunk as the Atlanta lead stretched back to 17 points. Joe Mazzulla subbed out the starters, as Boston cleared the bench to close it out.
Boston next face the Sacramento Kings at home on Friday at 7:30 pm EST.
