A franchise record 10 3’s by Danilo Gallinari and franchise record 23 3’s overall led the Hawks to a 127-112 win vs. the Celtics Wednesday at State Farm Arena.
Next up, the Hawks (14-18) will play in Oklahoma City Friday.
Below are some takeaways from the win:
1. Entering the game, the Hawks were looking to rebound from some clunky, let-down performances after losing in demoralizing fashion to Cleveland Tuesday night and getting demolished in Boston on Friday. NBA players will tell you every win is important, but the Hawks certainly needed a boost before going into their final few games of the first half of the season, and they got it with a dominant performance from start to finish.
They took a 21-point lead into the fourth quarter and there were no signs of the late-game collapses that have plagued them lately. The Celtics (15-17) were without Kemba Walker, who led them in scoring with 28 points in Friday’s win.
“We needed that win,” Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. “It was one of those statement performances for our guys. They needed a feel-good win, they needed a start-to-finish win and we got that tonight.”
2. Gallinari had an unreal offensive performance making 10 3-pointers, a career-high which also set a Hawks franchise record (Steve Smith was the previous record holder with nine, set on March 14, 1997). Gallinari finished with a season-high 38 points (13-16 from the floor, 10-12 from 3-point range, 2-2 free throws), with six rebounds.
In the first half, the Hawks tied a franchise record for 3-pointers made in a single half (13) off Gallinari’s seventh three of the night. Gallinari had topped his previous season-high of 20 with 24 points in the first half.
“It’s always great to make history and records are always great to get, so I’m very happy for that, but of course, when you do these kinds of records and you win the game, it feels way better,” Gallinari said. “It happens sometimes that you (have) amazing games without winning, so the win was very important.”
Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
Credit: Alyssa Pointer / Alyssa.Pointer@ajc.com
3. With 17 points in the first quarter, Trae Young was on fire and started things out on the right foot.
The Hawks jumped out to a 28-18 lead after Young scored 13 straight points, and he finished with 33 points and seven assists.
Through the first two quarters, the Hawks shot 60.5% from the floor (26-43) and a whopping 61.9% from 3-point range, going 7-for-8 from the line. They led the Celtics, 72-49, at the half thanks to the offensive explosion (Young and Gallinari accounting for 49 points themselves).
4. Finally, the Hawks got their first win on the second night of a back-to-back. They are 1-5 in that scenario this season. They’ll have one more back-to-back in the first half (in Miami March 2 and in Orlando March 3) and will have eight back-to-backs in the second half.
5. John Collins didn’t play in the second half of the Hawks’ loss to Cleveland Tuesday after taking an elbow to the side of the head in the second quarter. He was evaluated for a concussion, but was cleared to play Wednesday, so the injury-plagued Hawks were fortunate. Collins finished with a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds.
Stat of the game
23 (the Hawks set a franchise record with 23 3′s)
Star of the game
Gallinari (set a franchise record and career-high for 3′s in a game with 10, led the Hawks in scoring with a season-high 38 points)
Quotable
“It’s so beautiful, I’m not going to lie to you. It’s so fun seeing him shoot, how effortlessly he does it.” (Young on Gallinari’s success)
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