BOSTON -- The Hawks learned from Game 1 and came out of the gate playing hard Tuesday night. But they couldn’t correct early mistakes quickly enough and the Celtics handed them a 119-106 loss in Game 2 of the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs.
Here are five observations:
1. The Hawks managed to cut the Celtics’ lead to 99-91 after Bogdan Bogdanovic drained a 3 from the top of the key after Onyeka Okongwu tipped a jumpball to him. But the Hawks couldn’t capitalize on the momentum shift that had swung in their favor and Derrick White made them pay for it.
He fired off seven points off a 3-pointer, a layup and a pair of free throws that helped the Celtics go on a 13-4 run before the Hawks called a timeout. The Celtics’ run pushed their lead to 114-97 with 3:51 in the game and snuffed out any hope the Hawks could steal a game on the road before their return to State Farm Arena.
The Hawks just could not generate enough offense down the stretch and the Celtics had just one of their star players doing the heavy lifting. Jayson Tatum followed up his 25-point performance on Saturday with 29 points. White scored 26 points after scoring 24 on Sunday.
2. The unfortunate end came after the Hawks got off to the start they wanted. They got to their spots, hit their shots and led the Celtics 22-11 with 5:14 left in the first quarter.
But then Boston’s Robert Williams broke free from a Hawks defender and cut to the basket, patiently waited for another defender to blow by, and made a layup. It kicked off a 17-3 Celtics run that erased a Hawks’ lead and put the Celtics up three by the end of the first.
The Hawks’ scoring drought continued into the second quarter and the Celtics began to chip away at Atlanta’s defense.
Though the Hawks hit some shots from distance, ending the night 16-of-48 from 3, the Celtics continued to dictate the tone of the game.
“So, that’s the biggest thing for us when our shots aren’t falling we still have to play defense and lock in,” the Hawks’ De’Andre Hunter said.
3. The Hawks knew they that they needed to hit shots after missing 24 of their 29 attempts from distance on Saturday afternoon. Their second made field goal came on a 3-pointer from Hunter (18 points, 12 rebounds), who looked to begin the night aggressively.
But Bogdanovic and Dejounte Murray combined to go 11-of-20 from 3 and their efforts helped to give the Hawks a fighting chance in the second half.
With 6:01 left in the third quarter, the Celtics’ Al Horford drained a 3 in front of the Hawks’ bench, causing coach Quin Snyder to take a timeout. Out of it, Murray, who had 29 points, hit back-to-back 3s before finding Hunter for a midrange jumper to send the Hawks on a four-minute 19-8 run.
The Hawks continued to keep the game within reach and Bogdanovic, who ended the night with 18 points, hit a 3 that brought them within eight points for the first time since just 3:09 remained in the second quarter.
4. Prior to the game, Snyder encouraged both Trae Young and Murray to attack in both finding their shots and creating opportunities for others. Young chipped in 24 points but it took 22 shots and six trips to the free-throw line for the 24-year-old to get there.
Young’s outings in the postseason has drawn attention and it has been for the wrong reason. Over the course of his playoffs, he has shot 28.3% from 3 on 8.5 attempts per game. Over his last six games in the playoffs prior to Tuesday, he shot 18.6% from 3.
He didn’t improve his fortunes on Tuesday, knocking down just 2-of-9 shots from deep.
Young, though, knows he’s capable of more.
“I can be better,” he said. “I didn’t shoot the ball really well, I did have some turnovers where I was just driving and (the ball) left my hands, but I’m gonna be better at home.”
5. With the Celtics taking the first two games of the series, the Hawks are in danger of an early postseason exit for the second straight year. They have faced an 0-2 deficit in a playoff series before and have a chance to balance the scales with two games at home.
Stat to Know
7- Dejounte Murray connected on 7-of-13 from 3-point territory, tied for the second-most triples in a playoff game in franchise history.
Quotable
“I think we’ve touched on some things that we need to continue to do. Just do it for for longer.” -- Hawks coach Quin Snyder on how they learn from Tuesday.
Up next
The Hawks host the Celtics in Game 3 on Friday at State Farm Arena.
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