The Atlanta Hawks’ comeback attempt fell short against the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night at the TD Garden. Dejounte Murray missed this game due to lower back tightness and with Clint Capela already out with an adductor strain, Bogdan Bogdanović and Onyeka Okongwu stepped into the starting lineup. The Hawks put up a fight, but Bostons’s size and three-point shooting down the stretch proved too much for Atlanta.
The Celtics utilized Kristaps Porzingis’ 7-foot-2-inch frame right away in the mid-post. Boston opened the game with a 9-3 run, but the Hawks immediately countered with a 9-2 stretch. Saddiq Bey poured in seven of the nine, giving Atlanta a 12-11 lead early. When De’Andre Hunter entered the game off the bench, he immediately completed a four-point play to shock the crowd. However, on the other end, Hunter picked up three fouls in the first quarter. Jalen Johnson found Bruno Fernando on an alley-oop, but Jayson Tatum knocked down a deep three to end the first quarter. The Hawks held a 37-34 lead after the frame. Trae Young led his squad with 11 and Bey had 10, while Porzingis scored 10. Atlanta shot 54%, turned the ball over just twice, and held the Celtics to 2-9 shooting from downtown.
In contrast to the first quarter, the Hawks turned the ball over twice to begin the second, leading directly to four Boston fastbreak points. Atlanta bounced right back with a 7-0 run with two floaters from Young and a Johnson triple. Former Hawk Al Horford hurt his old squad with multiple triples. Okongwu drove aggressively to the rim and found Bey for a left-corner three, showing his offensive versatility. Tatum struggled mightily from deep throughout the game, missing two open threes on one possession. At halftime, the Celtics led 71-67. Bey shot 4-5 from beyond the arc in the first half, breaking out of his shooting slump.
Coming out of the locker room, fans were treated to an amazing offensive sequence. Derrick White threw an alley-oop to Porzingis, and the Hawks mirrored the play with Young finding Okongwu for a slam. After the Celtics failed to score, Young threw another perfect lob for a Johnson thunderous dunk. The Celtics led 82-78 and held a small advantage for most of the quarter. When Head Coach Joe Mazulla inserted seven-footers Luke Kornet and Porzingis in the game, Atlanta had trouble grabbing rebounds. Boston settled in the first half for poor three-point shots, but when they drove into the paint, they found success. With 2:30 left in the third quarter, the Celtics were shooting a whopping 27-34 on twos. The Celtics took a 95-90 lead into the fourth quarter. Neither team led by more than seven points in the contest through three frames.
In the fourth quarter, Young forced Payton Pritchard into a turnover. Johnson converted from beyond the arc, but White responded right back with his own triple. A few possessions later, White drained a 26-foot stepback three with the shot clock winding down to send Celtics fans into a frenzy. Boston ran with momentum off that shot for a 14-5 run, taking the biggest lead of the game at 109-108. The Celtics held a 120-109 lead with just over two minutes remaining, and it looked like they would run away. However, the Hawks went on a 6-0 run to cut the deficit to five. Atlanta had a chance to make it a one-possession game, but Bey missed an open corner three. Porzingis cashed in from deep on the other end with 20 seconds left to seal the victory for his squad.
Young finished with 20 points and 10 assists but shot 8-25 from the field. Johnson bounced back after a subpar performance against the Los Angeles Clippers for 19 points, 15 rebounds and three steals, while Okongwu totaled 19 points and 10 boards. Bey scored 25 and grabbed nine rebounds, shooting 4-7 from deep and 9-16 from the field. Bogdanović struggled for 12 points on 5-18 shooting.
For Boston, Porzingis dominated with 31 points on 13-19 shooting, while White put up 21 points with five threes. Tatum scored 20 (2-13 3pt) with seven assists and nine rebounds, and Jaylen Brown had 15 points. Horford stuffed the stat sheet with 14 points, eight rebounds, eight assists, four blocks and two steals.
Atlanta’s next chance to bounce back in the win column is Friday night at the Wells Fargo Center against the Philadelphia 76ers. The Hawks’ roster could look different for that game with the Feb. 8 trade deadline standing in the way.
