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Tatum scores 33 to help Celtics push past Hawks 107-98

ESPN BOSTON

BOSTON -- — Jayson Tatum had 33 points, eight rebounds and seven assists to help the Boston Celtics rally in the second half and beat the Atlanta Hawks 107-98 on Tuesday night.

Derrick White and Grant Williams each added 18 points off the bench. Marcus Smart finished with 16 points and four assists.

Boston has won 10 of its last 12 and three of four since the All-Star break.

Trae Young had 31 points and Bogdan Bogdanovic added 25 for the Hawks, who have lost two of three.

Atlanta led by as many as 17 points in the first half before that cushion evaporated in a 14-0 run by Boston to open the third quarter.

The Celtics kept their momentum going, outscoring the Hawks 31-13 in the period to take a 82-78 edge in the fourth.

Boston's lead grew to 102-88 with 3:11 to play in the game following back-to-back 3-pointers by Grant Williams.

The Celtics entered the game at full strength for the first time in weeks, but that changed in the first quarter when Jaylen Brown left with a right ankle sprain after taking an awkward fall during a drive into the lane.

He grabbed at his right leg as he toppled to the ground, but was able to walk to the locker room on his own power. He did not return.

The Hawks got their own injury scare in the quarter when Smart was issued a Flagrant 1 technical after sliding into Young's landing area on a 3-point attempt. Young suffered a left ankle sprain on the play, but was able to shoot his free throws before also heading to the locker room. He returned with 6:20 left in the second quarter.

TIP-INS

Hawks: Shot 14 of 20 (70%) from the field in the second quarter. … Weren't whistled for their first foul until the 11:08 mark of the second quarter. … Closed the first period on a 17-5 run.

Celtics: White went 4 for 4 and scored nine points in the final 3:55 of the third quarter. … Had 10 turnovers in the first half, leading to 10 Atlanta points.

UP NEXT

Hawks: Host Bulls on Thursday.

Celtics: Host Grizzlies on Thursday.

This is rhe kind of situation where the White signing pays dividends.I've got the NBA package, and although I mostly watch the Celtics, I saw Pop's crew on occasion , and always liked this guy's game. I liked JRich , but White is more capable with the ball in his hands and , although not as strong as Richardson, he's a plus defender too. I know, he doesn't shoot the trey well, but he's good at finding holes in the D , and that little runner is money.He seems unflappable. Had one bad game since coming over. I am more than happy to see White and Prabbit get the Richardson and Schroder minutes. Never really was a Schroder fan. Derrick is more of a true point guard and has better size. Pritchard can bail out a bad possession with a bomb from the logo. The third quarter was a thing of beauty. Jayson picked up the slack for Mr.Brown.

First half pissed me off, didn’t like the headband on Jaylen, we played like the last game pretty much, low energy, wasting too many possessions. 2nd half we turned it on, played like we have during recent streak. Good to see we could still swarm on defense and play winning basketball without Jaylen. He sometimes loses the ball or gets his shot blocked going/driving into too many defenders; this time it was so tight, he stepped on someone’s foot. Jaylen your great, please be more selective, never see Durant or Luka bullrushing into defenders like that.

Tatum came alive, as did White and they carried us in 2nd half. Nesmith actually played some very good defense, but his shot was so off, I don’t get it. Then he had wide open looks and was afraid to shoot. Without Jaylen, we will be at a size disadvantage, as obviously our wings is our strength. Read Jaylen wanted to come back, but team kept him out. I would keep him out for his own good, but glad he will be back soon.

The great Jordan once he learned how to win, drove less and less. Obviously he could still do it; but he mastered the mid range, easy money and less wear and tear on the body. Jaylen gets so high on that shot and there’s so many times he gets it off so easy, he could do it anytime he wants it seems.

jrleftfoot,

Don't worry too much about the 3-ball. The line is pretty much where it's going to stay and you pay for the extra risk of that extra point. We've seen it over and over again this season. If the league average for 3-ball is correct, 34%, shooting the 3-ball is statistically insignificant vs. the 2-ball.

That said, I like DW a lot. He's fit in seamlessly and is becoming a very big contributor for our fledgling bench. They won last night 39-37. I'm looking at the 39 points. From our bench! Ime's told the bench, "You have one job...score when you're on the floor and don't blow the lead. Leave the floor better than when you came in." OK, three things.

Elephant in the room with JB? I don't think so. Walked off on his own power. Replay didn't look that bad at all. Ime's comment leads me to believe he's fine. Just being cautious. Again, I'm no doctor but I play one on TV. We'll see him Thursday.

The way we got down by 17 was brought about by just a couple of B2B calls. We also know a 17-point lead in the NBA is nothing. Especially early on. I have to admit, I've gone back to looking at the live score while waiting for the commercials to catch up. Need to stop that!!

The 3rd quarter was devastating (and the 4th for that matter) if you were an ATL fan. That is #1 defense you are seeing. And if there was a higher number than #1, I'd give it that number. Teams are folding up like a cheap suit. PHI did and they are above us. ATL is a tough out. We have a big test of our defense and stance coming Thursday. If we can train-wreck their offense, mostly if not all Morant, then I'll be pleased. We need to get back to blowing teams out in the 1st quarter. Having to wait for the 3rd period to turn on the jets is killing me! We've somewhat regressed here the last two games with this. Not a lot. Just a different twist.

I wish I wouldn't have to preface every game now with "have to bring our "A" game", but we've been burned so many times by this team over the last two seasons, you have to say it.

It also appears like one good quarter of lock-down D brings even the best teams to their knees and gets them completely off track to the point of no return, looking like G-leaguers.

The everywhere above and below us report didn't yield us very much. TOR vs. BKN was in essence a wash. TOR hung around in the loss column vs. us by winning. BKN moved one more step to the edge of the cliff. I love the way they think it's just going to all come together whenever they are ready. What hubris. The a$$ that is being cooked up is just about ready to be taken out of the oven, placed on a platter and served up to BKN. Just a few more minutes before the timer goes off. BKN is going to LOVE it. (Enter "sarcasm" emoji.)

Ktron, I probably need to firm up/expand my PP comment. How far we go in the playoffs will be directly determined by how well our bench plays/shows up. PP is still a HUGE part of that, but it's time to focus on the bench and how they are maturing together with the addition of DW. OK. I feel better and clearer with that statement. So far, the last couple of games, I'm liking what I'm seeing. Good offense and everyone executing full buy-in defense.

Pretty sure the Grizz need to be put in their place. They will be no different than any other team we've faced when we lock down. Everyone flies off the handle. Just like when we get beat by teams that force us into bricklaying and crappy defense. Very predictable.

We'll be up for Thursday's game.

db

I was only able to watch the first half.  The ugly half.  I don't think my departure turned the tables but, if I have that kind of power, I'll be missing a lot of 2nd halves going forward.  Nice come from 17 down win.

Grant with a big game.  18 points on 6-11, 2-4 from 3 and 7 rebounds is a big game for him anyway but he scored 12 of those points on 4-7, 2-3 from 3 and 5 rebounds in the 2nd half.  I know that Tatum had 33 and all but you expect him to do stuff like that.  You don't expect that from Grant.  




Sean Grande @SeanGrandePBP
yesterday
Jayson Tatum finishes his final game as a 23-year old as the NBA's all-time leader in 3's for his age, moves ahead of Kevin Garnett into 3rd on the TD Garden all-time scoring list...and ends up 6th on this list with some serious, serious names....






White scored 11 points on 5-8 in the 2nd half.  Between Grant and Derrick there's 23 of the total 56 points the Celtics scored in the 2nd half.  That is a significant contribution from our bench to our victory, to say the least.



27 assists on 39 fgm, 69%.  Excellent.  The Hawks were 15-36.  If you're wondering how we're doing overall for the season on this stat we have 1527 assists and 2545 fgm, exactly 60%.  That's good team offense.

+10 on the boards, +8 in the 2nd half alone.  

They shot 43.4% (36-83) for the game, but were 52.3%  (23-45) at the half.  That's a 13-38,  34.2%, 2nd half for them.

We shot 47% (39-83) for the game and were 45% (18-41) at the half.  A 21-42, 50%, 2nd half.

Specifically the Hawks shot 2-17 from 3 in the 2nd half.  5-15 in the first half, already excrement, got even worse.  

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Marcus Smart on Celtics' physical defense: "Every day. Every day. That’s part of us. That’s part of me."


Boston Celtics
Boston Celtics @celtics
yesterday
“It takes all five of us,” Marcus Smart says of our defense locking down in the second half. “When we’re clicking on all cylinders, it’s tough to score against us.”


Boston Celtics @celtics
yesterday
Coach Udoka: "Aaron impacted the game without making a shot tonight. He did it with his physicality, defense, energy."

A lot is being made about Nesmith's shooting, there's an article in the Globe today saying that "he's not a shooter".  I disagree.  I think he is a shooter that is still struggling to slow the game down so his shot drops, but he plays as hard as anybody else on the team not named Smart.  If you're in a game where you're being out-hustled, out-worked, a game you're sleep-walking through, put in Crash and the dynamics will change.


Jared Weiss
Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Ime Udoka just said the Celtics can go "10 deep, easily" which seems surreal given where they were even a few months ago.

Jared Weiss @JaredWeissNBA
yesterday
Ime Udoka on Jaylen Brown's ankle sprain: "Rolled it & had some swelling & soreness. He tried to give it a go in the back and wanted to come back out and play. But we felt big picture, where we are in the season, just be smart." Hope is it's not serious, team will see tomorrow.

Good news, indeed.


Toronto squeezed out a 1 point win over Brooklyn, so we're still tied in the loss column with a couple of games in hand.  Milwaukee (+1) and Cleveland (+.5) were idle last night.  The Bucks host the Heat tonight and Cleveland hosts Charlotte.  If Red's paying attention we could wake up tomorrow tied for 5th and only 1/2 game out of 4th.

https://www.espn.com/nba/boxscore/_/gameId/401360746

MS's Flagrant 1 sends a message not only to the competition but to the team as well. BOS very seldom if ever gets one of those. But when it's MS doing it, it should open some eyes. He did get in his space but TY was just as guilty doing his dive in move (now banned because of him) at some point in the game. And he got called for that as well if I recall. Trey still has a way of contorting his body so he's not blameless in the foul either. MS has a way of normally going across the shooter at a sharper angle (less parallel and more horizontal) vs. the way he did that block as it was at just a slight angle where the odds of your landing in the space is much greater, almost going right at the guy. I'll have to watch the play again today. When you are as great a defender as MS is, it's very rare that this is all his fault, especially with the reputation TY has in this scenario regarding fouls.

db

This was a game of 2 halves.  The first half characterized by very sloppy ball protection (10) turnovers and less than quality defense.

The 2nd half produced just 2 turnovers and much better defense.  Great games by both White and Gwill.

Shout out to Robert Williams who continues to show a smooth stroke from the line (3-3)  and now up to 72% for the year.

The Marcus Smart run down and block at the rim was the defensive play of the game and a defining 'you can't beat us' moment.

Breathing a sign of relief with the news that Jaylen will be ok.  I am still concerned about our depth.  Nesmith gave us good defensive minutes off the bench but when the heck will he make an open shot?

Solid coaching and adjustments by Ime.

dbrown4 wrote:jrleftfoot,

Don't worry too much about the 3-ball.  The line is pretty much where it's going to stay and you pay for the extra risk of that extra point.  We've seen it over and over again this season.  If the league average for 3-ball is correct, 34%, shooting the 3-ball is statistically insignificant vs. the 2-ball.  

That said, I like DW a lot.  He's fit in seamlessly and is becoming a very big contributor for our fledgling bench.  They won last night 39-37.  I'm looking at the 39 points.  From our bench!  Ime's told the bench, "You have one job...score when you're on the floor and don't blow the lead.  Leave the floor better than when you came in."  OK, three things.

Elephant in the room with JB?  I don't think so.  Walked off on his own power.  Replay didn't look that bad at all.  Ime's comment leads me to believe he's fine.  Just being cautious.  Again, I'm no doctor but I play one on TV.  We'll see him Thursday.  

The way we got down by 17 was brought about by just a couple of B2B calls.  We also know a 17-point lead in the NBA is nothing.  Especially early on.  I have to admit, I've gone back to looking at the live score while waiting for the commercials to catch up.  Need to stop that!!  

The 3rd quarter was devastating (and the 4th for that matter) if you were an ATL fan.  That is #1 defense you are seeing.  And if there was a higher number than #1, I'd give it that number.  Teams are folding up like a cheap suit.  PHI did and they are above us.  ATL is a tough out.  We have a big test of our defense and stance coming Thursday.  If we can train-wreck their offense, mostly if not all Morant, then I'll be pleased.  We need to get back to blowing teams out in the 1st quarter.  Having to wait for the 3rd period to turn on the jets is killing me!  We've somewhat regressed here the last two games with this.  Not a lot.  Just a different twist.    

I wish I wouldn't have to preface every game now with "have to bring our "A" game", but we've been burned so many times by this team over the last two seasons, you have to say it.  

It also appears like one good quarter of lock-down D brings even the best teams to their knees and gets them completely off track to the point of no return, looking like G-leaguers.  

The everywhere above and below us report didn't yield us very much.  TOR vs. BKN was in essence a wash.  TOR hung around in the loss column vs. us by winning.  BKN moved one more step to the edge of the cliff.  I love the way they think it's just going to all come together whenever they are ready.  What hubris.  The a$$ that is being cooked up is just about ready to be taken out of the oven, placed on a platter and served up to BKN.  Just a few more minutes before the timer goes off.  BKN is going to LOVE it. (Enter "sarcasm" emoji.)

Ktron, I probably need to firm up/expand my PP comment.  How far we go in the playoffs will be directly determined by how well our bench plays/shows up.  PP is still a HUGE part of that, but it's time to focus on the bench and how they are maturing together with the addition of DW.  OK.  I feel better and clearer with that statement.  So far, the last couple of games, I'm liking what I'm seeing.  Good offense and everyone executing full buy-in defense.

Pretty sure the Grizz need to be put in their place.  They will be no different than any other team we've faced when we lock down.  Everyone flies off the handle.  Just like when we get beat by teams that force us into bricklaying and crappy defense.  Very predictable.

We'll be up for Thursday's game.    

db        

DB, Looks like we are certainly going to need him. So far, so good here lately. He’s handling it pretty well.

I think I may have an idea why Nesmith’s shot has been off. He was billed as unathletic coming in and a shooter. Surprisingly he is not unathletic at all and plays physical and hustles hard all the time. The edge that he plays with, the recklessness to compete and win a lot of 50/50 balls has him edgy like a fighter ready to snap/punch with full speed and power. This intensity at the wing position you go at everybody, bigs, smalls may have thrown off his shot in the heat of the moment, as he’s going so hard/fast his body is too hyped to focus on his touch, shooting touch after being is such a competitive mindset. Well that’s my possibility/story, and I’m going with it.

Ktron,

Currently ESPN/Injuries has JB marked out a/o 3/2/22.

db

cowens/oldschool wrote:I think I may have an idea why Nesmith’s shot has been off. He was billed as unathletic coming in and a shooter. Surprisingly he is not unathletic at all and plays physical and hustles hard all the time. The edge that he plays with, the recklessness to compete and win a lot of 50/50 balls has him edgy like a fighter ready to snap/punch with full speed and power. This intensity at the wing position you go at everybody, bigs, smalls may have thrown off his shot in the heat of the moment, as he’s going so hard/fast his body is too hyped to focus on his touch, shooting touch after being is such a competitive mindset. Well that’s my possibility/story, and I’m going with it.

I think you’re on to something here. Makes sense. It’s either that or..he just can’t shoot.