Prince’s 31 Not Enough as Hawks Fall to Celtics

A career night from Taurean Prince was wasted in Boston by the Atlanta Hawks, who were suffocated in the 3^rd quarter by the Celtics’ 1^st-ranked defense. Atlanta was outscored 41-20 to in that quarter, which pretty much sealed the game.

Late flourishes from John Collins cut the lead to single digits, but this bout was well out of hand after that 3^rd-quarter massacre from the Celts.

Prince was feeling it in this game, and it was clear from the start that he had an extra bounce in his step after being named to the Mountain Dew Kickstart Rising Stars game, which showcases the best 1^st– and 2^nd-year players in the league. Taurean joined his teammate John Collins on Team USA for the game.

Even with The Prince That Was Promised pouring in a career-high 31 points, both Terry Rozier and Jayson Tatum of the Celtics matched him with career-highs of their own; Rozier had 31 and Tatum had 27 (Tatum will also be in the Rising Stars game on Team USA).

Those scoring pyrotechnics, coupled with a stifling defensive effort from Boston, saw a Hawks 1^st half advantage disappear almost as soon as the 2^nd half began. It didn’t hurt that the Celtics shot a stupendous 11 of 24 (45.8%) from downtown overall (many of those misses came in garbage time in the 4^th quarter) and the Hawks went a measly 5 of 22 from the field in the 3^rd quarter.

Statistically, Prince was the clear headliner. This bested his previous career effort against Toronto earlier this season, and he only needed 17 shots to notch those 31 points. His final stat line: 31 points on 9 of 17 shooting (5 of 9 from deep) with 8 rebounds, 3 steals and 2 assists in a team-high 31 minutes.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/959596132786618368

Dennis Schröder also had a strong game with 25 points on 10 of 20 shooting and 4 rebounds, but he managed only 1 assist against 4 turnovers. The Celtics’ tremendous defense limits easy passes and simple drive-and-kick action, which is how Dennis usually compiles his assist totals.

Dewayne Dedmon had a nice game off the bench and he continues to be the Hawks’ best pure center. He finished with 9 points, 7 rebounds and a +5 box plus/minus in 20 minutes, and if Atlanta wanted to try and win some games this season (they probably don’t), Dedmon should be getting more minutes.

John Collins did not light it up tonight, though he did manage to slice into the Celtics lead by scoring some easy jams late in the 4^th quarter, including a nice dunk off the dribble, tiptoeing along the baseline. This was his only dunk in the competitive portion of this game:

JC, who almost always is in the right place on defense, made a few miscues on this night leading to some wide-open looks for Boston. Coach Bud did not seemed pleased, but Collins might’ve redeemed himself with this vicious erasure of an attempted Abdel Nader layup:

Marco Belinelli had a solid game off the bench, though 2/3 of his 15 points were from the charity stripe, as the Celtics could not stop fouling Marco in the 2^nd quarter. Belinelli only shot 2 of 8 from the floor, though he continues to receive plenty of trade interest from playoff contenders throughout the league.

Next: Atlanta Hawks Youth Movement Part 1: The Rookies

The Hawks are off tomorrow and then return to action for a 12:00 p.m. EST tip-off against the New York Knicks on Super Bowl Sunday. Get up early to prepare for the big game and catch some matinee Hawks basketball.