The Atlanta Hawks fell by 21 points to the Boston Celtics on Friday and Hawks head coach Lloyd Pierce believes the team's lack of urgency at the beginning of the game is to blame for the loss.

“The hole that we put ourselves in was a big issue,” Atlanta coach Lloyd Pierce said to the Associated Press following Friday night's loss. “We just have a way of getting off to slow starts. For some reason, we don't have that urgency.”

The Hawks were down 42-19 after the first quarter. That's a difficult hole to climb out of, especially against a defensively-minded team like Boston. The Hawks made a run in the second and third quarters, but it wasn't near enough to make Friday night's matchup interesting.

The Celtics held a comfortable lead in the fourth quarter and Celtics head coach Brad Stevens was able to rest some of his stars, including Kyrie Irving.

Atlanta's lack of experience definitely cost them in TD Garden. Boston came out with a sense of urgency and the killer instinct needed to bury Atlanta early. The Hawks came out like a young team that wasn't ready to play.

Rookie point guard Trae Young had a tough night, shooting 2-for-11 from the field and 0-for-6 from three-point range. But Pierce and his squad have the luxury of using this loss as a learning experience. Atlanta is doing more to position themselves well in the lottery than