A phenomenal fourth-quarter performance by Trae Young helped the Hawks snap a four-game losing streak with a 122-114 win in Boston Wednesday.
Next up, the Hawks (12-16) will play the Celtics (14-14) in Boston again on Friday.
Below are some takeaways from the win:
1. With Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce returning to Atlanta Tuesday for the birth of his second child, this was the first game that assistant Nate McMillan took over as acting head coach. McMillan likely will coach Friday’s game in Boston, as well, and Pierce is expected to be back for the Hawks’ home game vs. the Nuggets Sunday. McMillan began his postgame press conference by congratulating Pierce and his wife on the birth of a healthy baby.
Credit: Charles Krupa
Credit: Charles Krupa
2. Young put on an electric performance with 16 points in the fourth quarter, helping the Hawks close out a close win, something they’ve struggled to do this season. Young finished with 40 points (14-20 FG, 4-9 from 3-point range, 8-8 FT) and eight assists — and only one missed shot in the final period. With the Hawks leading by four and Young subbed back in the game at the 8:27 mark of the fourth quarter, he hit a clutch 3-pointer and found Clint Capela for a dunk to make it 102-93. Later, when it the Celtics cut it to six, he responded with eight straight points of his own to put the Hawks back in control.
3. This season, the Hawks have had their fair share of fourth-quarter struggles, and they now move to 10-7 when leading after the third quarter. The Hawks were up, 90-81, going into the fourth, before Boston started out on a 10-4 run to pull within three. Then, Young took off. They’ve been emphasizing playing a full 48 minutes, and despite a few late mistakes and 16 turnovers, were able to get the kind of win that has been evading them.
“I think the first thing I said, ‘We’ve been here before. Let’s finish this game,’” McMillan said. “We talked about being calm, we talked about being clear about what we needed to do. We had control of the game, we needed to finish the game.”
Credit: Charles Krupa
Credit: Charles Krupa
4. The Hawks found success in the paint, with 60 points in the paint to the Celtics’ 46. Clint Capela had 24 points and 13 rebounds and John Collins added 20 points, six rebounds and two assists. The Celtics, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, were missing center Daniel Theis as well as Kemba Walker, Marcus Smart and Romeo Langford. They were led by Jayson Tatum with 35 points.
5. At 57.1%, the Hawks set a new season-high field-goal percentage, slightly edging out their percentage (56.8% FG) in their win vs. the Raptors on Feb. 6. To show how much of that came around the basket, they only shot 33.3% from 3-point range (8-for-24).
Stat of the game
6-7 FG, 2-2 from 3, 2-2 FT (Young’s line in the fourth quarter)
Star of the game
Young (led the Hawks in scoring with 40 points, 16 of which came in a clutch fourth-quarter performance)
Quotable
“We had a different sense of energy, attention to detail. We just wanted to close this game out… We didn’t want another situation of deja vu where we have a fourth-quarter lead and we give it up. So I just feel like the sense of urgency was there for us tonight.” (Collins on the importance of closing out a close win)
