Celtics
The Celtics needed to work for it, but they managed to search out a creative strategy to defeat Trae Young and the Hawks 119-115 on Saturday.
Here are the snack bars.
The Celtics had the sport under control.
We can't emphasize enough how badly the Celtics blew this game.
The Hawks put up a superb fight and definitely had their very own opportunities to drag away, however the Celtics appeared to have done simply enough to secure the win with 30 seconds left.
With the sport tied at 100, Jaylen Brown gave himself some space with an attractive turnaround jumper and the Celtics took the lead.
On the opposite side, the Hawks threw the ball away and commenced to implode – Trae Young complained a few technical error, apparently under the impression that Jrue Holiday was going to grab him, and the Celtics went up by three when Tatum took the free kick throw.
That must have been it – the Celtics must have been in a position to pound the ball in, make a number of free throws and get the win.
Instead, Holiday escaped near the rim and took a pass from Tatum. Instead of holding onto the ball (or putting it in) and taking a two-possession lead, Holiday gave the Hawks life by throwing it out of bounds in the primary of two disastrous miscues down the stretch.
On the opposite hand, the Celtics intentionally fouled Trae Young (and we would love to take this chance to reiterate that the NBA needs to vary its foul-up-by-three rules to maintain exciting basketball games flowing). Young made each free throws, and the Hawks fouled Tatum, sending him to the road and giving him a probability to take a two-point lead.
Tatum went 1-for-2 to place the Celtics ahead by two.
Then Holiday made his second disastrous decision, inexplicably fouling Young again. Predictably, the profession 87.3 percent free throw shooter did each, Tatum missed a turnaround shot and the sport went into extra time.
Overtime was intense, with multiple stops and starts and an altercation that just about resulted in Tatum – who was already in a technical – being ejected from the sport (when you want a little bit chat after one other disheartening loss, note that Joe Mazzulla pumps his fist and claps). when the 2 teams fought with one another).
But the Celtics almost had a probability to show a well-deserved loss right into a win in the ultimate seconds when Jalen Johnson missed two free throws and the Hawks took a one-point lead.
Instead, Onyeka Okongwu thoroughly outmaneuvered Neemias Queta, grabbed the offensive rebound and made two free throws when he was fouled. The Hawks played the remaining of the sport effectively.
The Celtics could have done a number of things higher to win, but perhaps most frustrating for Celtics fans will likely be the indisputable fact that, for all their problems, they still could have (and will have) won on Saturday.
Instead, they may embark on an prolonged road trip through which the great vibes created by Friday's win over the Magic have largely been erased.
The Celtics couldn't shoot (again).
The Celtics shot well against the Magic, and that didn't fix their problems (whatever those problems could also be). As a team, they shot 40-104 (38.5 percent). From three it was 15 to 52 (28.8 percent). Their saving grace – or a minimum of their near saving grace – was that the Hawks one way or the other underperformed from three games: 9 for 37 (24.3 percent).
The individual statistics are brutal:
- Jaylen Brown was 9 of 27 and a pair of of 9 from three games.
- Tatum was also 7 of 21 and a pair of of 9 from three games.
- Derrick White was 5 of 16 from three games alone and seven of 20 overall.
It appears the shooting will proceed until the chances rise. Morality is nowhere to be found.
Jaylen Brown hit his head off the bottom.
Here's a clip of a fall Brown took in extra time. Don't watch it when you're squeamish.
Brown stayed in the sport, and while we fully acknowledge that we don't have a medical degree here, that call seemed questionable considering Brown's head landed squarely on the hardwood floor with no support. We hope he's doing well.
Luke Kornet was a superb starter.
The Celtics opted to play each Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford at the highest of their matchup, and while Porzingis played sparingly and hinted that he might play on the second night as well, the Celtics as a substitute went to Kornet to guide their matchup start location.
They weren't dissatisfied. Kornet finished the sport with good statistics – 17 points, 7-for-9 shooting and 7 rebounds – and was extremely effective on each ends. Perhaps most notably, he earned six second-chance opportunities on offensive boards in addition to 4 steals, all of which got here in the primary quarter.
The Celtics were 5.0 points per 100 possessions higher defensively this season with Kornet on the sector as a substitute of off it. That's the 86th percentile league-wide and the perfect on the team by a comparatively large margin. Even on an evening when things weren't easy for the Celtics, Kornet's presence once more made it possible for the Celtics to have an injury-prone starting center with a 38-year-old backup.
Sam Hauser missed a point-blank dunk.
With the Celtics struggling to attain, perhaps no single play summed it up higher than a fast attack late within the third quarter.
With lower than a minute left, because the Celtics were beginning to put some things together, Tatum snuck right into a passing lane and intercepted a pass from Trae Young. Tatum had the chance to get revenge on two different teammates running in front of him and selected Hauser, who was sprinting before the play.
Hauser appeared to have thrown down a wide-open dunk, and he looked confident going up.
Oops.
No major damage was done – the Hawks went out of bounds, then committed a foul that sent the Celtics to the road and still allowed them to make it 2-1.
Still, the noise TD Garden made — roaring as Hauser broke away, then groaning as his dunk inexplicably popped out — was each appropriate and quite funny.
Hauser finished the sport 0-7 from the sector and 0-5 from three.
The Celtics are heading west.
The Celtics will now go on tour again. They face the Warriors on Monday at 5 p.m. before two games against the Clippers and Lakers on Wednesday and Thursday.
image credit : www.boston.com