POST GAME ATLANTA - AWAY

Thomas, Olynyk lead the way as Celtics escape with 103-101 win over Hawks

CSNNE

By A. Sherrod Blakely January 13, 2017 10:32 PM

ATLANTA – When the Atlanta Hawks played a video tribute to Al Horford on their Jumbotron between the first and second quarters, Horford was visibly moved by it.

But as he embraced the brief moment of nostalgia, his Boston Celtics teammates were determined to add one more good memory for Horford to take away from the night’s activities – a win.

And they did just that as they escaped with a 103-101 victory over the Hawks.

Atlanta had one last shot at forcing overtime, but Paul Millsap’s tightly contested jumper along the baseline was an air ball as time expired.

For much of the game, it was Horford’s teammates carrying the team at both ends of the floor while Horford, the Celtics’ $113 million man did what he has done for most of his career – fill in whatever area his team needed.

He finished with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists while Isaiah Thomas and Kelly Olynyk led the way with 28 and 26 points, respectively. Tim Hardaway Jr. came off the bench to lead the Hawks with 23 points.

Boston erupted in the first quarter with a barrage of 3-pointers that put them ahead by as many as 15 points which was fueled by Kelly Olynyk who scored 18 of his 26 points in the first half.

However, the Hawks continued to fight back into the game and made it a one-possession game after newly-acquired Mike Dunleavy Jr. drained a 3-pointer that made it a 94-92 game with 2:11 to play to cap off a 13-5 Atlanta run. That would be as close as Atlanta would get until Paul Millsap drained a game-tying 3-pointer with less than 26 seconds to play.

The Hawks were on the comeback most of the night, having fell behind by 15 points in the first quarter only to make it a 42-all game with 1:11 to play in the first half.

But Boston managed to finish the final minute of the half strong, scoring six of the final eight points to lead 48-44 at the half.

Boston would pull ahead by as many as 20 points in the third and once again, the Hawks chipped away at the Celtics lead courtesy of a late surge that cut Boston’s lead down to 78-65 going into the fourth.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX


Isaiah Thomas’ Game-Winner Lifts Boston To Thrilling 103-101 Win

NESN

by Cameron McDonough on Fri, Jan 13, 2017 at 10:32PM

It felt like déjà vu for the Boston Celtics on Friday, as they saw a commanding double-digit lead evaporate in the closing minutes against the Atlanta Hawks just a few days after they completely collapsed against the Toronto Raptors.

But this chapter had a different ending.

Isaiah Thomas (28 points) took over late with 13 fourth-quarter points, two of which came on the game-winning basket in the C’s 103-101 win at Philips Arena.

Kelly Olynyk (26 points, eight rebounds) and Jae Crowder (18 points, nine rebounds) also chipped in with key offensive performances for the Celtics, while Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. led the way for the Hawks with 23 points each.

With the win, Boston improved to 25-15, while Atlanta dropped to 22-17.

Here’s how it all went down at Philips Arena.

STARTING FIVE Isaiah Thomas, Marcus Smart, Jae Crowder, Amir Johnson, Al Horford

HORFORD RETURNS For the first time in his career, Horford played for the away team at Philips Arena on Friday night. He spent the first nine seasons of his NBA career with the Hawks, but he left in free agency this past offseason and signed with the Celtics.

Horford finished the game with 10 points, six assists and six rebounds on what had to have been an emotional night for the center.

The Hawks played a video tribute for him between the first and second quarters, and he received a standing ovation after, but he also heard plenty of boos beginning with the player introductions.

3-POINT PARTY The Celtics enjoyed a 28-18 lead after one quarter, and their hot start from beyond the arc was a big reason why. Boston made 8 of 14 3-point attempts in the opening 12 minutes, three of which came from Olynyk off the bench. The team made 10 of 21 total shots in the frame, and Crowder led the way with 10 points and four rebounds. Atlanta, meanwhile, made 50 percent of its 3-pointers in the first, but that only was on four attempts. The Hawks were a dreadful 6 of 21 from the field, and no player scored more than five points (Millsap).

Boston cooled down from deep in the second quarter, as they only went 2 for 10 from beyond the arc. Atlanta also knocked its halftime deficit down to 48-44. Olynyk was the game’s high scorer with 18 points in the first half.

CLOSING TIME The C’s were up by as many as 20 points in the third quarter after a 10-0 run gave them a 77-57 advantage with 3:23 remaining in the frame. However, the Hawks went on an 8-1 run to close the quarter and trailed 78-65 heading into the final 12 minutes.

Atlanta never went away, and it came all the way back to tie the game at 101-101 on a Millsap 3-pointer, but Thomas hit the game-winner on a step-back jumper.

INJURY BUG The Celtics still weren’t at 100 percent Friday, although they did receive a boost with the returns of Jaylen Brown and Johnson after they missed Wednesday’s game against the Washington Wizards.

Boston once again was without guard Avery Bradley (Achilles), who hasn’t played since Jan. 6 due to a strained Achilles. Tyler Zeller and James Young also both were unavailable Friday.

PLAY OF THE GAME Someone appears to be feeling better. UP NEXT The C’s will return to TD Garden for three home games in a row, beginning Monday night against the Charlotte Hornets. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. ET.

Read more at: http://nesn.com/2017/01/celtics-wrap-isaiah-thomas-game-winner-lifts-boston-to-thrilling-103-101-win/

112288

Dino danced. The curse was broken... and tonight Kelly Olynyck harnessed his inner William Tecumseh Sherman on Atlanta and the south may never rise again..

If KO can only perform like this night in and night out.

Great effort. Loved the block outs in the paint to provide easier rebounds for us and controlling the glass.

112288

KO established perfect positioning deep in the post to shield his man, to receive the pass and free up his shooting hand. It was technically perfect. He took and made shots that he has been passing up all year He established good defensive rebounding position.

Can we expect this type of production from him? I seriously doubt it. But we need more from him game in and game out. Part of what limits his consistency is above the neck and the other part is related to his physical limitations.

He is averaging 8.4 points per game, 4.2 rebounds and 2 assists. In this his 4th year he has leveled off and there does not appear to be a lot of upside. The Celts will need to decide to either trade him or give him a raise.

What would you do?

Dboss

Raise to what level?

If he is a good sweetener for a dynamic player I say yes move him. However depending on what he is asking he may be a bench guy coming in to maintain offensive attack when the starters are getting a blow on the bench.

A-La Eddie House for Ray Allen substitution.

112288

We were looking for a signature win, was this one?  Sure, Atlanta is no Cavaliers or GSW, but they are a good team, right behind us in the standings, were on a 7 game winning streak and were playing at home (also known as TD Bank South.  More Celtic fans than any other road games).  We were short a key starter, Avery Bradley, while they were healthy.  Should it have been this close?   Not if you remember we were up 20 at one point, but if you remember all the issues I listed above the, yeah, it should have been a nail-biter all along.

IT had 7 points at the half.  He ended up with 28, 14 in the 4th.  He is unreal.  King of the Fourth.    

If you want to get to the next level you need a player who can take over the game for at least a few straight minutes.  

If you want to go deeper into the playoffs you should have two.  We have one, IT, and maybe Bradley could be one too.

Game ball to the impersonator wearing the Kelly Olynyk full body suit and life-like mask.  26 points on 8-11, 4-5 from 3 and 8 rebounds.  3 assists and zero TOs.  18 points at the half.  He did EVERYTHING right, including his position defense, even JVG was complimenting him on it.  On the last play of the game, with Atlanta needing a bucket, Kelly guarded the inbound pass to make it harder.  The pass went to Millsap in the near corner (Rozier was on him on a mismatch!) and Kelly came over quickly to help contest the 3pt shot that would have won the game for the Hawks (about 1:55 on the highlight film).  

Marc D’Amico: Kelly Olynyk: “We really wanted to win this one for Al (Horford). He deserved it, and I’m glad we could get it for him.” 14 hours ago – via Twitter celtics

The question left is "when, if ever, will we see this guy again?".

NOT a good game for Smart.  Aside from his usual Brickmaster 3-13, he gave up straight line drives to the basket by Tim Hardaway Jr all 4th quarter which almost cost us the win.  Not used to seeing him play POOR positional defense.  He's listed with 4 steals but they sure didn't happen in the 4th, where they scored 36 and his man, Hardaway, scored 15 of them.

Dwight Howard sucks.  Just had to say it.  What a lazy shit.  Even the announcers said he could have gotten a defensive rebound on a missed fast break shot but he just stood at half court and didn't run.

I wonder who'd they want for Tim Hardaway, Jr?  He's our lights-out shooter from the bench.

Brooklyn lost and Philly won on a buzzerbeater, so now there are 4 games between Philly, Dallas, Phoenix and Brooklyn.  Miami with 11 wins is still only 3 games ahead of them.  Where's your freaking Pride, Riley?!  Stop tanking and start winning so I can start drooling.

The cherry on top, though, was Matty breaking his streak of attending Celtic games in Atlanta and losing.  Congrats, brother, well done.


http://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore?gameId=400900018

Miami with 11 wins is still only 3 games ahead of them.  Where's your freaking Pride, Riley?!  Stop tanking and start winning so I can start drooling.


just a note Bob  


Miami plays the nets 2 times before the end of the month

25th at Brooklyn and 30th at Miami

beat

beat wrote:Miami with 11 wins is still only 3 games ahead of them.  Where's your freaking Pride, Riley?!  Stop tanking and start winning so I can start drooling.


just a note Bob  


Miami plays the nets 2 times before the end of the month

25th at Brooklyn and 30th at Miami

beat

beat,

Ooooh. BIG games, BIG!! We need Miami to win at least one of those, to maintain the 3 game gap.


bob


.

bobheckler wrote:

beat wrote:Miami with 11 wins is still only 3 games ahead of them.  Where's your freaking Pride, Riley?!  Stop tanking and start winning so I can start drooling.


just a note Bob  


Miami plays the nets 2 times before the end of the month

25th at Brooklyn and 30th at Miami

beat

beat,

Ooooh.  BIG games, BIG!!  We need Miami to win at least one of those, to maintain the 3 game gap.


bob


.

sort of sad saying the 2 worst teams in the league have BIG games when they play each other, but we all know what they mean to US !!

beat