The Hawks face the Celtics in the first round of the Eastern Conference playoffs after being swept in the three games of the regular season. The Celtics won twice in Atlanta and ended the regular season with a victory.
The best-of-seven series begins on Saturday in Boston. Game 2 is scheduled for Tuesday. The series will switch to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 next Friday and Sunday.
Here’s a recap of the season series.
Celtics 126, Hawks 101
In an early-season matchup in Atlanta on Nov. 16, the Celtics won easily despite playing without two key members. Jaylen Brown scored 22 points for the Celtics (12-3), who won their eighth straight game despite missing Marcus Smart and Malcolm Brogdon to injury. Seven Celtics scored in double-figures with Jayson Tatum (19), Grant Williams (18), Derrick White (16), Sam Hauser (15), Luke Kornet (15) and Payton Pritchard (14) behind Brown. The Hawks (9-6) were led by Trae Young with 27 points, but that came on 10 of 23 shooting, including 2 of 7 from 3-point range.
Celtics 134, Hawks 125
Jayson Tatum scored 11 of his 34 points in the fourth quarter as the Celtics held off the Hawks in Atlanta on March 11. Jaylen Brown had 24 points and Tatum also had 15 rebounds for the Celtics (47-21). Trae Young had 35 points and 13 rebounds for the Hawks (34-34). The game was highlighted by an incident between the Celtics’ Marcus Smart and Young. With 1:25 remaining and the Celtics up by eight points, Smart and Young got entangled and fell to the floor. After review, both players were called for technical fouls and Smart was ejected. According to officials, Smart was ejected for a “grab and takedown” and Young was assessed a technical for “pointing in Marcus Smart’s face.”
Celtics 120, Hawks 114
Payton Pritchard had his first career triple-double as the Celtics won the regular-season finale for both teams in Boston on April 9. Both teams played without the majority of their regular players. Pritchard had 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists for the Celtics (57-25) as Derrick White was the only regular starter to play for the Celtics. De’Andre Hunter was the only regular starter to play for the Hawks and had 14 points. Garrison Mathews and Bruno Fernando had 19 points each for the Hawks (41-41). The Hawks finished as the No. 8 seed and faced a play-in game with the Heat. They won easily to advance to face the No. 2 seed Celtics.
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