Wait a minute, the Hawks and Celtics are playing again?
People are still buzzing after Monday’s Hawks-Celtics game – and for good reason considering the Hawks recorded the franchise’s largest comeback win in 26 years. The Hawks have even played another game, defeating Portland 120-106 on Wednesday to extend their modest win streak to three.
But Thursday night, three days after the improbable “still-hot-on-social-media” victory over the NBA-leading Celtics, the teams will meet again in downtown Atlanta. Expect State Farm Arena to be packed once again – coach Quin Snyder noted that the “energy” of the fans gave the team a lift during its comeback Monday – as the Hawks look to keep their momentum going in their hopes for a playoff berth.
Oh, and don’t forget the Hawks are missing Trae (Young) and J.J. (Jalen Johnson) but still have D.J. (Dejounte Murray) and DeAndre (Hunter). And Boston met Bruno (Fernando) and Vit (Krejci) on Monday – Hawks reserves who combined for 29 points in the victory.
As for the Celtics, well .... they still have the best record in the league. By far. But they have had to endure three days of stewing in the ATL after a loss which ended their nine-game win streak and put them on the wrong end of an NBA historical note.
You would think Boston would have an advantage Thursday as a rested squad against a team which played Wednesday night. One betting line in Las Vegas have the C’s favored by 16.5 – on the road.
The Hawks proved Monday that they could rally from nearly twice that number. Will it happen again? We will all find out tonight.
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