BOSTON — After using physical play to get into the Eastern Conference playoffs, the Hawks struggled to channel that style Saturday, and they lost to the Celtics 112-99 in Game 1 of their series.
Here are five observations.
1. A Hawks matchup against one of the top-ranked offenses in the NBA would not be easy, and the disparity showed. The Hawks trailed by as many as 32 points, but they did fight back in the second half, outscoring the Celtics 55-38 to cut the deficit to 13.
The Hawks played a little more aggressively in the second half. Coming out of the locker room at halftime, the Hawks scored six consecutive points. Despite the Celtics answering those points, the Hawks went on a 26-9 run that lasted just over seven minutes before Boston regained control.
But some continued stops, and some nice plays by Dejounte Murray, which included two assists to Clint Capela, allowed the Hawks to cut the deficit to 12, at 107-95. That was the Hawks’ smallest deficit since they trailed 32-24 with 10 minutes to play in the second quarter.
They could not get over the hump, though.
“I think for our guys to understand that there’s two halves, there’s four quarters, and there’s seven games,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “And, I have said it before, the mental toughness that’s required to win a series in this league is significant. And we have to continue to demonstrate that, and I thought we did tonight. I thought we were a tough team to be down like we were and going to continue to play. That’s hard to do. And that’s what we did.”
2. The Hawks outmuscled the Heat early Tuesday to get them off their spots, and keep them out of the paint. But Saturday against the Celtics, the Hawks put up little resistance as the Celtics marched their way inside, possession after possession.
Part of the Hawks’ game plan early was to try to limit the amount of catch-and-shoot 3′s they gave up to one of the top shooting teams in the league. While they held the Celtics to 2-of-6 3-point shooting early, it seemed to have little effect.
The Celtics sliced them up with backdoor cuts and drives before their 3-point shooting caught fire. A number of those cuts came from Robert Williams, who scored 12 points off the bench.
“I mean, we came out that first half, and I don’t think we was really ready,” said Murray, who scored 24 points, had eight rebounds and six assists. “Just that ‘compete’ word, you know. I don’t think we was really competing, really locked in, like we been practicing, like we should have been.”
3. With 8:58 in the second quarter, Marcus Smart drained a 3, and Jaylen Brown, who had 29 points, made another 20 seconds later to balloon the lead to 17. The Celtics warmed as they made all but one of their 3-point attempts in the second quarter to stretch their lead to 30.
Celtics forward Jayson Tatum, scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half, knocked down the 3-pointer that sent Boston up 30.
The Celtics have plenty of options who can make shots when needed. In the regular season, the Celtics made 37.7% of their 3-point shots, which was good for sixth in the NBA. On Saturday, five Celtics starters ended the day with multiple 3′s, and all but one of their starters in double-digit scoring.
4. Ahead of the game, the Hawks knew that they would have to make their open shots to keep pace with the Celtics. But Saturday, they made only five 3-point shots and shot at a 17.2% clip (5-of-29). The team managed to generate several good looks throughout the afternoon, but the ball would roll halfway down the net before popping back out.
Unlike when the Hawks played the Heat on Tuesday, the Celtics quickly boxed them out early and stifled any shot at an offensive rebound.
5. The Celtics have a lot of depth on their roster, with plenty of guys who can play and have played starter-level minutes. Unfortunately, the Hawks second unit got out to a slower start than usual, and the Celtics’ second unit pounced.
The game hung within single-digits through for the first 14 minutes of the matchup. But the Celtics bench outscored the Hawks 13-6 and helped jump-start Boston’s run.
Moving forward, the Hawks will look for their bench to be ready out of the gate.
Stat to know
The Celtics led the Hawks 74-44 at halftime, tying Boston’s largest postseason halftime lead in franchise history.
Quotable
“Guys just more aggressive. We got stops on the defensive end, and that helps in our transition and gives us some easy baskets.” – Hawks guard Trae Young on what worked in the second half.
Up next
The Hawks face the Celtics in Boston at 7 p.m. Tuesday for Game 2 of their series.
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