1. Ridiculous First Half Scoring Display
The Boston Celtics went absolutely nuclear on the Atlanta Hawks, winning 132-106. Boston had an incredible scoring night, especially in the first half. They scored 82 points and 52 of those points came
in the second quarter alone. Via Dick Lipe on X, that 52 point second quarter is the 2nd highest quarter in Celtics history, only trailing the 54 point 4th quarter they scored vs. the San Diego Clippers on 2/25/1970. In the first half, Boston shot 30-48 (63%) from the field and 14-24 (58%) from three.
2. Jaylen Brown’s Homecoming
On the day before this game, Jaylen Brown went back to his old high school, Wheeler High School in Marietta where he got his number retired. Brown was a 5-star recruit coming out of Georgia and in his 2014-2015 senior year, Brown averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds to help lead Wheeler to a 30-2 record and a 6A state title.
This homecoming must have inspired Brown in this game, finishing with 41 points on 14-30 shooting in only 30 minutes.
Brown was automatic from the jump in this game, scoring 18 points in the first quarter. His first basket of the game saw him cutting through the lane for a floater on the fast break. The next bucket came on a switch with Onyeka Okongwu. Brown attacked the basket, initiated contact, and finished over the Hawks big man. The third basket came on a midrange jumper over Nickeil Alexander-Walker similar to his fourth basket which was a midrange jumper over both Jalen Johnson and Mouhaned Gueye. His fifth basket after Jordan Walsh set a nice screen that resulted in a wide open three. The final bucket was his best of the quarter where he drove on Okongwu, got him to jump, and finished the layup for an And-1.
The second quarter is where Brown scored his next 11 points, starting off with another nice layup over Vit Krejci. His second basket was maybe his best play of the night where he got fouled by Krejci on the way up. Brown then blindly threw up a circus shot that went in, looking like Michael Jordan. Brown finished the quarter bullying smaller Hawks defenders. His third basked came on another midrange jumper over Alexander-Walker while his final basket saw him put CJ McCollum in the weight room on a driving layup.
By the third quarter, you could tell Brown was in the zone and he set the tone with his first shot coming from just inside the logo for a deep three. His next basket involved Luka Garza setting a great screen that Brown was able to go around for a reverse layup. Brown continued to attack Gueye for his final two buckets. He went to work in the midrange with a half-spin into a driving layup for an And-1 on his third basket. Then he finished off his homecoming with a beautiful midrange jumper.
3. Sam Hauser, Flame Thrower
Sam Hauser is arguably the best shooter in NBA history to wear number 30. Well, maybe not, but when he is hot, Hauser can turn into prime Steph Curry and completely takeover a game. In this matchup against Atlanta, he finished with 30 points on 10-21 shooting from three. His shooting numbers are a little bit skewed due to the fact that he was shot-chucking in the fourth quarter to try and break the Celtics all time record for threes in a game held by Marcus Smart at 11. Hauser does occupy 3 of the top 10 most three pointers in a game in Celtics history, this being the second time he hit 10 threes in a game, the first coming against the Wizards on 3/17/2024.
Hauser did break an NBA record however, attempting the most threes in NBA history without taking a two-point shot. All 21 of Hauser’s shot attempts came from beyond the arc, breaking the previous record that was originally held by J.R. Smith, Malik Beasly, and Malik Monk at 17.
After hitting one three in the first quarter, Hauser went on a tear in the second quarter, shooting 6-6 from beyond the arc. The first three of the quarter was a running pull up jumper after relocating on a Gueye attempt. The second one came after running around a Garza screen into a pull up jumper over McCollum. The third was wide open from the corner after some nice ball movement. Hauser was feeling himself by the fourth one where he got a straight away three over a late contest by Jalen Johnson. The fifth came on a wide open three from the wing on a nice pass from White. Finally, he ended the quarter with his best play of the night. After Brown missed a three, Hauser stole the ball from McCollum and all in one motion threw up a heat check over Krejci that had the Celtics bench going crazy.
4. Neemias Queta Incredible Effort
Something that is going to be lost in Brown’s 41-Point Homecoming performance and Hauser’s 10 Three Pointer Game is how solid Neemias Queta was. Queta finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds on 5-7 shooting but it really felt like he was aggressive on the boards and hunting his shot early on.
This play at the 8:41 mark of the second quarter is a perfect example of what I am talking about. After Simons threw up a lob that Queta couldn’t handle, Gueye got the rebound for the Hawks. Queta didn’t give up on the play however, stealing the ball away and going back up for a thunderous two-handed jam.
The other play I have to show is this vicious poster that Queta had on Vit Krejci. With White handling the ball, Queta was able to slip out of a screen to receive the ball in a wide open lane to the basket. Krejci however wanted to show some defensive effort and paid the ultimate price. Click! Click! Welcome to your Kodak Moment, Vit Krejci.
5. Derrick White Did a Little of Everything
Derrick White finished this game pretty quite on the scoring front with 7 points on 3-4 shooting but his fingerprints were on every other part of this game. White tied his Celtics career high with 12 assists in this game alongside 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. White was able to show off his defense on the opening play of the second half. White intercepted a Jalen Johnson pass and took it all the way back for an easy two points.
I would say his best assist of the night came on his final one in the third quarter. White was around the top of the three point line and fired a cross-court pass to a wide open Hauser in the corner for three.
6. Baylor Scheierman Stepped Up
When Payton Pritchard was ruled out of this game with left ankle soreness, Baylor Scheierman was elevated to the starting lineup for the second time in his last three games and he was a positive contributor. Scheierman filled up the stat shat, finishing with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals while shooting 3-6 from beyond the arc. Baylor was showing off early in this game, getting a nice pass from Brown and hitting a no-dip three in the corner.
The 3 steals is the big thing I want to highlight from his game tonight. The first one came when he doubled Jalen Johnson and was able to take it away. This led to a fast break opportunity for the Celtics that resulted in a wide open three from Anfernee Simons. The second steal came when Johnson passed it to Okongwu under neath the basket where Scheierman was able to wrestle the ball away from him and go the other way. The last steal might have been my favorite however, intercepting a pass from McCollum and diving in the floor to get possession of it. Those hustle plays are what I love to see out of Baylor Scheierman.
7. Incredible Ball Movement
When I think of the most beautiful plays on a basketball court, somewhere at the top of that list is beautiful ball movement leading to a basket. There is something so soothing about seeing three passes along the perimeter into a wide open three or easy bucket underneath. The Celtics did a great job of this against the Hawks, finishing with 27 assists as a team. My favorite of the night came in the second quarter where the ball started with Scheierman passing it to Queta. Queta passed to Hauser and slipped towards the basket. Hauser then found White wide open in the corner who immediately zipped it to the block for Queta to put in a wide open layup.
8. Lockdown Defense
Not only did the Celtics go on a scoring barrage in this game, they were also able to stifle the Hawks offense all night long. Atlanta finished the game shooting 38-102 (37%) from the field and 15-46 (33%) from three while committing 11 turnovers. Boston also finished with 9 steals and 8 blocks on the night, really imposing their will on a Hawks team that didn’t even look like they wanted to be there. It felt like Atlanta was playing a preseason game out there and Boston took full advantage of it.
9. Glass Cleaners
The Celtics have done a great job at rebounding the basketball in their win against the Heat on Thursday and that carried over into this game. Boston out-rebounded Atlanta 55-47 and almost every player on the Celtics finished with a minimum of 2 rebounds on the night no matter how many minutes they played. This is the type of energy that Joe Mazzulla looks for when it comes to being dominant on the glass. If Boston can continue to rebound at this rate, I wonder if they don’t look to trade for a center at the deadline and ride with the rotation of Queta and Garza with Jayson Tatum coming back.
10. Maine Celtics Appearances
Anytime there is a blowout of this proportion, by the fourth quarter the two-way players normally get their chance to shine. In this case, Ron Harper Jr. and Amari Williams were able to play and showed some nice flashes. Harper Jr. played 6 minutes in the fourth quarter and finished with 3 points and 3 rebounds on 1-2 shooting. The Celtics ran a nice play that started with Xavier Tillman on the block who passed it back out to Scheierman at the three point line. Baylor then whipped a pass to Harper Jr. where he was able to knock down the wide open three.
Williams played the entire fourth quarter and finished with 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks. However, I would say his best play of the night came on his 1 assist. Simons found Williams who was cutting to the middle of the floor. Williams being an excellent facilitator with the ball in his hands, found Hugo Gonzalez back on the wing for a wide open three.
The two blocks that Williams had were also pretty impressive, showing strides in his defensive game. The first one came when Corey Kispert was trying to go coast-to-coast but Williams chased him down the whole way and blocked his shot. It was called a goaltending but the Celtics reviewed it and got it overturned. His second block was also great, meeting his fellow rookie Asa Newell at the summit to send it back.
I love when the Maine Celtics guys get to come up and show off for the big club. Amari Williams impressed me the most since the last time we saw him play. He looked a lot more athletic and didn’t look lost on the court. Granted it came in garbage time, but I wonder if the impressive play he’s shown in Maine this year will get him a spot playing more minutes in Boston at some point this season.
