Hawks stifled by Celtics in final game before trade deadline

Porzingis scored 31 points, calling for mismatches early and hitting his shots over smaller defenders. The 7-foot-2 center went 13-of-19 from the floor, with roughly 42% of his shots coming at the rim, going 7-of-8 inside the restricted area.

“They make shots when you don’t contest and even when you contest, they make big shots and they got a lot of players we were trapping late in the game too and they were just making the right play,” Hawks guard Trae Young said.

Porzingis made life tough for the Hawks defensively, luring them into traps under the basket. Of his 11 contested shots, seven of them came off of 2-point attempts.

2. At the end of the first, the Hawks held the Celtics to three 3s. But Boston hit timely shots over the next three quarters, with six 3-pointers coming in the fourth.

Their jumpers from long range kept the Hawks out of reach all throughout the third quarter before they blew the game open in the fourth. Derrick White’s fourth 3 of the night handed the Celtics their largest lead of the game at 109-98 with 8:01 left. Five minutes later he hit another that seemingly iced the game.

But the Hawks staged a mini-comeback going on an 8-0 run that cut their deficit to five after a huge 3 from Bogdan Bogdanovic. Then the Hawks found Saddiq Bey in the corner for a 3 but the shot fell short and Porzingis hit a dagger 3 with 19 seconds to play to dash the Hawks’ rally.

“We weren’t able to see the ball go in and we had some good shots,” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “But again we competed and battled and that was good to see on the road against obviously, arguably the best team in the league.”

3. The Celtics used their length to their advantage and it unfortunately left the Hawks altering how they took their shots despite good looks. The Hawks made just 18 of their 46 field goals in the second half as the Celtics closed off their shots under the rim and blocked several at point-blank range.

On top of that, they honed in on Bogdanovic and Young, who combined for 13-of-43 overall shooting and 4-of-20 from 3.

Though Young scored 15 of his 20 points in the first quarter, the Celtics held him scoreless for almost 22 minutes in the next three quarters. He did not make his seventh field goal until there was 6:04 to play in the game. He also had 10 assists on 8-of-25 overall shooting.

4. The Hawks faced the Celtics without Clint Capela (left adductor strain) and Dejounte Murray (lower back tightness) and the Celtics focused on Young and Bogdanovic. So the Hawks needed a strong night from the rest of their lineup. They got a boost from Bey, who followed up his solid shooting on Monday with a strong outing.

Bey looked comfortable and confident from long range, hitting a 3 on the Hawks’ opening possession and ending the night 4-of-7 from deep. It’s the first time since Dec. 2 that Bey has made more than three 3 and he’s gone 7-of-13 over the last two games in what seems to be a breakthrough from last month’s shooting slump.

“I pray every day and He’s great,” Bey said. “Never losing that confidence. Always keep the faith.”

5. Wednesday’s iteration of the Hawks could have been the last with the team potentially making changes on Thursday at the trade deadline.

Stat to know

7 - The Celtics have won seven straight regular-season games against the Hawks, including six straight wins in Boston, after their 125-117 win. They are 15-4 against the Hawks in the regular season over the last six seasons.

Quotable

“Saddiq (Bey) had a terrific game, and he’s got a clean look from the corner to cut it to two. It’s hard to be disappointed with that effort.” -- Quin Snyder on the ending of Wednesday’s game.

Up next

The Hawks could look a little different when they face the 76ers on Friday at the Wells Fargo Center.