After the Boston Celtics protected their home court and went up 2-0 against the Atlanta Hawks with relative ease, the first-round series looked more and more like a formality. However, Atlanta's stars responded in a big way in Game 3 while the Celtics faded away down the stretch.
The Hawks rose to the occasion at home, playing their best game of the series and defeating Boston 130-122 to make the series 2-1. Celtics star Jayson Tatum admits that, unlike Atlanta, he didn't get it going when he needed to in Game 3:
“I have to play better,” Tatum said, per MassLive's Souichi Terada. “I had some timely turnovers, especially some reads at the rim. Maybe try and get fouled where I have to do a better job of making the decisions in some of those moments just in timely situations. So this one tonight is on me.”
Despite Tatum shouldering the blame, he led all Boston scorers with 29 points. A key reason the Celtics fell in Game 3 was their pitiful defense.
Celtics allowed 127.5 points per 100 possessions in Game 3 per @cleantheglass. That's their fourth-worst defensive performance of the year.
— Brian Robb (@BrianTRobb) April 22, 2023
Since an embarrassing loss to the Washington Wizards in late March, the Celtics had not allowed 130 points to anyone. Yet, they were letting Atlanta get to the rim with ease and connect on tons of 3-pointers early in the contest. So much so that the Hawks' 74 first-half points was a postseason franchise record:
Halftime:
Hawks: 74
Celtics: 67**74 points is the most the Hawks have scored in any half in franchise playoff history.
— Amanda_Pflugrad (@Amanda_Pflugrad) April 22, 2023
Aside from their defense, the C's were also lacking on the boards. Atlanta grabbed 48 rebounds to Boston's 29 and the 11 offensive rebounds from the Hawks helped lead to 23 second-chance points.
5 OREB and 8 2nd chance points for the Hawks in the 4th quarter
Gross stuff pic.twitter.com/EawpKUB7on
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) April 22, 2023
Additionally, in a change of pace from Games 1 and 2, Hawks star Trae Young was on fire Friday. He scored a series-high 32 points during Game 3, with 15 of those coming in a crucial fourth quarter.
Murray/Trae were 15-26 (4-9) for 38 points in the second half. Celts were nowhere close to as good on both compared to Games 1 & 2. Credit to them for making shots
— Dan Greenberg (@StoolGreenie) April 22, 2023
Put simply, Atlanta was hitting its shots, Boston's defense was porous, and the Hawks came to play. Tatum and company will have to correct their mistakes for Game 4 of the first round on Sunday night, as the Celtics will try to steal an important game on the road.
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