Post Game - Celtics vs. Hawks - Sunday, November 26 (W)

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401584874

Celtics-Hawks takeaways: Tatum outduels Young as C's stay unbeaten at home

https://sports.yahoo.com/celtics-hawks-takeaways-tatum-outduels-015536575.html

Justin Leger
Sun, Nov 26, 2023, 8:59 PM EST·4 min read



Celtics-Hawks takeaways: Tatum outduels Young as C's stay unbeaten at home originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Three Key Storylines

Jayson Tatum and Trae Young star
Neemias Queta plays key role
C's bounce back on the boards

The Boston Celtics' dominance at TD Garden continued Sunday night vs. the Atlanta Hawks.

Boston remains one of two teams (Denver Nuggets) that are undefeated at home as it improved to 7-0 this season in front of the Garden crowd. With the 113-103 victory, the Celtics held the Hawks' potent offense to its lowest scoring total of the season thus far.

While it was a bounce-back win for the C's, there's still plenty of room for improvement in the third quarter. Atlanta cut Boston's 20-point lead to six points in the frame. It's an ongoing issue for the Celtics, who scored just 21 points in the third quarter vs. the Hawks after totaling only 18 in the third in Friday's loss to Orlando. It's the sixth time they've been short of 22 points in the third quarter through 17 games.

Nevertheless, the Celtics held on in the fourth quarter to improve to 13-4 on the campaign. They did so without starters Jrue Holiday (ankle) and Kristaps Porzingis (calf).

Jayson Tatum paced Boston with 34 points on the night while Jaylen Brown chipped in 21. Derrick White notched a double-double with 15 points and 11 assists, and Sam Hauser stayed hot off the bench with 12 points on 4-of-9 shooting from 3-point range.

Trae Young led Atlanta with 33 points. Bogdan Bogdanović tallied 23 off the bench and hit seven of his 10 3-pointers.

Next up for Boston is an In-Season Tournament matchup vs. the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night. First, here are our takeaways from Sunday's action.

Tatum outduels Young

The stars were out in Boston on Sunday night.

Jayson Tatum vs. Trae Young lived up to the hype as both superstars stepped up for their respective squads. This time, it was Tatum getting the edge.

Tatum erupted for 21 first-half points to keep pace with Young, who entered the half with 20. After being held scoreless in the Celtics' sluggish third quarter, the four-time All-Star dropped 13 in the fourth to propel Boston to victory.

Tatum and Young traded big shots throughout the fourth quarter. Young ended up with 33 points (12-27 FG, 6-16 3-PT), but Tatum was just a tad better. He hit 11 of his 25 shots (5-13 3-PT) to finish with 34 points. He also logged nine rebounds, four assists, and two steals.

Although he wasn't thrilled with his six turnovers, Tatum did enough to lead his team to a bounce-back win. Whenever the Hawks made a run, Tatum was the one who answered. He'll look to duplicate his performance -- while cutting down on the TOs -- on Tuesday night.

Neemias Queta brings a spark

With Porzingis out, reserve big man Neemias Queta got some playing time. It was the 24-year-old's second taste of NBA regular-season action.

Queta made the most of his time on the court. The 2022-23 All-NBA G League selection entered early in the second quarter and was a menace on the boards, bringing down 10 rebounds (six offensive) in 15 minutes.

Although his touch around the rim needs some work (3-8 FG), Queta still made an impact on the offensive end with seven points. It was a significant improvement over his NBA debut last week in Memphis when he had zero points (0-1 FG) and two rebounds in five minutes.



Queta received a well-deserved ovation from the TD Garden crowd when he first checked out of the game in the second quarter, then he gave fans an encore with an impressive performance in the third. Fans may see more of Queta in the near term while Porzingis recovers from his calf injury.

Better on the boards

The Celtics' rebounding struggles -- particularly on the offensive boards -- led to their demise in Friday's loss to Orlando. They made significant strides in that category on Sunday night.

They recorded 13 offensive rebounds and 12 second-chance points in the first half to surpass their totals (four offensive boards, eight second-chance points) from Friday's game. Queta's contributions played a major role in that improvement, but Boston got contributions throughout the roster.

Al Horford, starting in place of the injured Porzingis, logged a season-high 15 rebounds (three offensive). He tied his previous season-high of 10 rebounds midway through the third quarter.

Jaylen Brown had seven boards to go with his 21 points. Dalano Banton had five rebounds (two offensive) in his fourth career start. Derrick White and Sam Hauser had two offensive rebounds apiece.

The Celtics finished with a season-high 58 rebounds and 18 offensive boards after getting killed on the glass in Orlando. They'll hope the trend continues in Tuesday's In-Season Tournament showdown with Chicago.

From another perspective:


Hawks fall to Boston Celtics in season-low scoring contest, 113-103

https://www.peachtreehoops.com/2023/11/26/23977035/atlanta-hawks-fall-to-boston-celtics-in-season-low-scoring-contest-jayson-tatum-trae-young

By Joe.Schmidt@Joe_Schmidt07 Nov 26, 2023, 8:34pm EST 6 Comments / 6 New



The Atlanta Hawks opened their season with a 113-103 loss to the Boston Celtics, missing Jalen Johnson. The starting lineup for the Hawks featured Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, De’Andre Hunter, Saddiq Bey, and Clint Capela. The Celtics, playing without Kristaps Porzingis and Jrue Holiday, started Derrick White, Dalano Banton, Jaylen Brown, Jayson Tatum, and Al Horford.

Facing a 10-4 deficit, AJ Griffin entered the game as the first substitution. Trae Young, who has accumulated four technical fouls this season, received his fifth in an early disagreement during the contest. Approximately five minutes into the game, Young made a significant contribution with a deep three-pointer, aiding the Hawks in keeping pace with the Celtics’ scoring.



At the conclusion of the first quarter, the Celtics held a 33-26 lead. Trae Young stood out as the primary offensive force for the Hawks, amassing 13 points (3-for-4 from three) and contributing three assists. Nevertheless, Jalen Brown and Jayson Tatum had already combined for 17 points, and the Celtics had connected on four three-pointers.

The beginning of the second quarter showcased Bogdan Bogdanovic taking charge. Following a successful second-chance three-pointer, Bogdanovic further impressed by hitting a pull-up three-pointer.



During the first and second quarters, the Hawks encountered difficulties securing defensive rebounds. By midway through the second quarter, the Celtics had already logged 12 offensive rebounds. Capitalizing on a formidable 18-5 run, the Celtics established a 58-41 lead. Trae Young continued to showcase his prowess, concluding the half with 20 points and six assists. Jayson Tatum contributed 21 points, giving the Celtics a 69-53 advantage.

In the third quarter, Bogdan Bogdanovic demonstrated his sharpshooting ability, bringing his three-point total to seven, while De’Andre Hunter brought his total to five. Together, they spearheaded a 13-0 run for the Hawks, narrowing the deficit to six. By the end of the third quarter, Bogdanovic maintained a perfect 7-for-7 record from beyond the arc.



Despite outscoring the Celtics 29-21 in the third quarter, the Hawks entered the fourth quarter trailing 90-62. Trae Young ignited the quarter with two three-pointers, a layup, and a floater. However, the defensive struggles persisted, with difficulties in securing stops and conceding offensive rebounds. With seven minutes left in the game, the Hawks found themselves in an 11-point deficit.

The Hawks were unable to overcome this deficit in the fourth quarter. The offense struggled, and the Hawks failed to make a competitive push in the final period. The Boston Celtics limited them to just 21 points in the fourth quarter, marking the Hawks’ lowest-scoring game of the season. Trae Young led the Hawks with 33 points, accompanied by Hunter with 24 points and Bogdanovic with 23 points. On the opposing side, Jayson Tatum’s 34 points played a pivotal role in the Celtics securing the victory.

The Hawks were on a SEGABABA-AA (Away-Away), the hardest kind. I didn't know that until I read that last tweet.

They did fight hard.

Good comeback game at home after a bad loss. Banton and Queta did enough to contribute to the win and make me want to see more of them. Banton did nothing spectacular, but he played off the J’s and like the way he gave us more size on defense. Queta finished with more rebounds than Hawks starter Capela and as a team we finished with a plus 15 rebounding advantage. He is very active in the paint, somewhat relentless. We might have found a diamond in the rough that can play next to Z or Al and provide a much needed dirty work element. I think both these players can improve with more minutes.

Is blowing leads really a problem?  Are other league leading teams blowing leads regularly?  Or is this the new norm with having teams like the Celtics, currently top-heavy, given the changes to the CBA?  I don't know.  I'm not quite ready to say this is a problem for us as we may blow leads but we build them back and win in the end far more than we lose.  There are just a ridiculous number of factors that figure into it and ones we may never be able to discover or figure out.  And given the 3-happy league, not even a 20+ point lead is safe as a few possessions, a couple of mistimed TO's, combined with hot shooters can erase any deficit inside of 2 minutes.  I need more data and/or bigger sample space.

This was a good game for us to see 9-11 develop on the bench.  Seat 1-8 are filled and I was leaning toward Kornet taking the 9th seat coming into last night's game, or at least grabbing the chair to steady himself.  I have not seen the game yet, so we still may be at 1-8 secure for the time being.

Queta falls in our 9-11 range but again, need more data/sample space before earning the seat.  But it's a race between Kornet and Queta right now for Seat #9.  

Those are the critical issues now.  First, 6-8 continuing to bring more energy and increasing fire power into the game.  Second, Coach Joe determining who's going to get Seats #9-#11.  Finally, if neither of those plans pan out pretty quickly, does Brad step in and make a trade.  But 1-8 are pretty solid.  Still need to continue to raise the bar when they come in, but solid.  Having players out temporarily should be seen as some form of a blessing for us given our top-heavy status and the unwanted regular season guests starting with the letter "I" that show up for all teams and wreak havoc.

I'll go watch the game before Tuesday's game.  We're at home.  That should help.  Let the chips fall where they may for the In-Season Tournament.  Temporarily, we've blown it and cannot determine our own fate. We have to win by 23+ points and Brooklyn has to win @ home against TOR to create a 3-way tie.  Otherwise, if we win, we'd be tied with ORL and they get the push.  Then I think it goes to Point Differential.  If BOS really wants this, they will have to blow CHI out of the building.  

There's no place home, Dorothy.

db

I've been very frustrated because I have struggled to get a working link.  My usual link is https://reddit3.rnbastreams.com/


Glad to see our turnover number was lower than our opponent's.  Been a while since that was true.

Our starters were 7-32 from 3.  Only Tatum's 5-13 saved us there, and even then that's only 38.5%, hardly mind-blowing.  Jaylen was 2-7, 28/5%.   The rest of the starters were a combined 0-12 from 3.  Overall the starting 5 shot 31-70, 44.3%.  Simple math, they were 24-38 from 2, 63%.  So, why were 50% of our fgas from 3 when we were so damn efficient from 2?

The bench, on the other hand, scored 29 points on 12-25, 48%.  They went 6-15 from 3, 40%, with Sam's 4-9.  He's shooting 44.8% from 3 on the year.   Detractors cannot say he's had it easy because he hasn't played enough to be scouted, he's been scouted by now, he's just hitting his shots like a pro.

Neemias Queta wants a contract upgrade.  I don't think he'll get it, not this early in the season, but he sure is playing like it's foremost in his mind.  There's no need for Brad to do that.  Queta's under contract, he can't just bolt for another team, and the Boston Celtics can play him up to 50 games of their 82 as a two-way.  So Brad can keep his flexibility with that open roster spot and, if nothing happens by the trade deadline, he can upgrade Queta so he can be available in the playoffs.  Not a bad looking boxscore last night, though 3-8 from a player whose offense is all 6' and closer isn't that good.  What I'm really focusing on is his 10 rebounds (6 offensive!) in only 15 minutes.  Last night we took 95 fgas.  That's really nice, an area we've been absolutely awful in the past week.  6 offensive rebounds means 6 additional possessions.  I saw at least 2X Queta was open and waving for the ball but we didn't get it to him.  If he isn't Cowens' favorite player already he will be soon.








This might be the last Celtic game I will be able to watch until mid-December, perhaps even at the earliest.  I leave Punta Arenas, Chile on Wednesday to Ushuaia, Argentina (and 11-hour bus ride. Flying would be worse, since I'd have to fly from Punta Arenas in Tierra del Fuego up to Santiago, probably a 3 1/2 hour flight, then change planes for a 2 hour flight to Buenos Aires, go through customs and then change planes and fly another 3 1/2 hours to Ushuaia. There's 9 hours just flying).  I'll be in Ushuaia for 2 days and then I board a ship for Antarctica.  When I get back I spend one more night in Ushuaia (probably completely bushed) and then I fly to Sao Paolo, Brazil on 12/13.  I hope to catch some games once I get to Brazil.  While I probably won't be able to access the board while I'm on the ship I will try and keep up with your postings when I can.


Bob


.

Antarctica??? Wow Bob, please keep us informed!

Safe travels my friend. You are doing it while you can, smart guy!!!!!!!!!!!! if there are pictures, let you know. I wish you a wonderful trip. Gee, I am going to NYC and think it is a big deal!!!! We sure will miss you here but enjoy!

Bob,

I don't know if you saw this on the Game On thread, but maybe this will add a few options for watching sports online:

I don't know if it will work where you are at, but my son in law uses:

StreamEast.to

Or

TheStreamEast.to

Good luck and safe travels.

Safe travels BobH! Hope that you have a fantastic experience.