During the first two games of this Hawks-Celtics series, the prevailing thought was there’s simply not much the Hawks can do. They’re just not good enough to trade blows with a championship favorite. Then the Hawks’ victory in Game 3 opened the door for optimism, however tepid.
Game 4 restored order from the Celtics’ point of view. For the Hawks, it was a bucket of ice water dumped on the small flame ignited Friday night. They lost to Boston 129-121 Sunday at State Farm Arena. The Celtics lead the best-of-seven series, 3-1.
“Some of the shots we made last game just weren’t going in,” guard Trae Young said, succinctly summarizing the night.
The Hawks are one loss away from getting eliminated in the first round for the second consecutive year. And, barring an unforeseen shift in this series, it will be the second straight year they looked largely overwhelmed in their swift exit. Last year, the Heat completely outclassed them. This year, the Celtics are faring similarly.
“We’re still alive; we have to go to Boston and see what we can do,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said.
The Hawks’ fortunes Sunday might’ve been different had they not fallen on their faces early. They were down 33-19 in the first quarter. Playing catch up is hard enough, but doing so against the Celtics – especially considering the Hawks’ spotty shooting – is an extremely steep hill to climb.
“We came out too slow,” forward De’Andre Hunter said. “We knew as a team that they were going to come out strong, especially after the last game. We didn’t match their intensity to start the game.”
Yet the Hawks still pulled within single digits multiple times. The closest they came was a three-point deficit just as the third quarter winded down. The crowd erupted with excitement, but Marcus Smart’s ensuing dunk subdued it and gave the Celtics a five-point lead entering the fourth.
“They’re a really good team,” Young said of the Celtics. “They’re here for a reason. They’re the No. 2 seed. They made adjustments.”
It goes back to the awful start. The Hawks shot 36.7% in the first half, which is 19.3% worse than their shooting results in Game 3. It wasn’t even the 3-point shooting, which plagued the Hawks in Games 1 and 2. They were 8-for-22 in the first half (compared to the Celtics’ 9-for-23). It was the two-point attempts. The Hawks made only 2 of 14 field goals inside the arc over the first 12 minutes. They were 8-for-13 in the second quarter, which helped them keep pace, but their defense failed them. Boston scored 35 and 30 in the first two quarters, respectively.
The Hawks were better in the second half, but not enough to overcome their early deficit. They shot 51%, yet the Celtics shot 53.7%. They outscored Boston 68-64, but the Celtics outscored them 37-34 in the fourth quarter.
In the waning moments, with the Hawks down 111-106 before the Celtics put it away, one couldn’t help but think about how the team couldn’t overcome its poor start. Snyder and players spoke about the lack of intensity early; that cannot happen to a team with aspirations of a deep playoff run. The Hawks entered the year with lofty goals. They entered this series hoping to show they’re a better team than their regular-season results.
All this series has shown is they’re exactly the team fans have watched for months. The Celtics have played three complementary games. The Hawks got hot once but otherwise have failed to assemble complete performances. When one area is good, another falters. That’s the maddening inconsistency of a 41-41 team.
Game 3 was the outlier, with the Hawks making 56% of their shots and the Celtics looking befuddled. In the other three contests, the valley between the Celtics and Hawks was evident; that shouldn’t be unexpected in a 2-7 matchup, but it’s nonetheless disappointing for the Hawks given what they’ve invested.
“If we can’t come to play now, I don’t think we ever will,” Hunter said.
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