Atlanta Hawks: Rapid Reactions to Tough 113-105 Loss to Celtics

The Atlanta Hawks go cold at the worst possible time and drop what had been an exhilarating game with the Boston Celtics, 113-105

The Atlanta Hawks showed great fight and resolve in a tight battle with the Boston Celtics, but a stretch of nine straight missed field goal attempts in the final three minutes doomed their chances at downing the Boys in Green.

It was a disappointing finish to what had been an extremely entertaining affair at State Farm Arena.

Five different Atlanta Hawks ended with double figures, Trae Young and Kevin Huerter continued their Fire-and-Ice rendition of the Splash Bros, and we nearly had a benches-clearing-brawl! I mean, come on, what more do you want in a tight loss that advances our chances at securing a top draft pick?

The Atlanta Hawks came out of the gate red-hot, making eight of their first ten shots en route to an early 20-11 lead.

The Celts, playing on the second night of a back-to-back, looked they were going through the motions and most likely would have been buried alive had it not been for the heroics of Uncle Drew.

Kyrie Irving scored 23 of his 28 points in the first half to singlehandedly keep his team in the game. This, despite the best efforts of the Red Ranger. Huerter continues to be must-watch television.

His combination of feisty (or spicy like a Red Pepper) on-ball defending (3 steals), veteran court vision (career-high 7 assists), and silky shooting (4-of-10 3PT) looks like it could be something truly special.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/1086801119303606272

And now he’s downing step-backs with no regard for human life?

After a lights-out first half that saw them record 19 assists on their 25 made field goals, the Hawks clung to a 67-60 lead.

Then things started to get chippy between the two teams, eventually boiling over when Marcus Smart did some not-so-smart stuff and earned a second technical while jawing with DeAndre’ Bembry.

But he wasn’t done there. No, good ole Marcus thought it would be a good idea to then make a beeline for Bembry, presumably to deliver some knuckles.

That show of naked aggression sent him to the tunnel.

Following all that excitement, there was a noticeable increase in the energy of both teams. It was refreshing to see the young Hawks withstand a motivated Celtics run.

Trae Young, who is the offensive fulcrum the Atlanta Hawks need, had a great outing while going head-to-head with Kyrie. The rook didn’t back down and hit some big shots while delivering the phenomenal passes that are becoming the norm for him. He finished with 16 points and 7 assists.

Taurean Prince played his first game without a minutes restriction, and it wasn’t pretty. He started cold from the field and tried to shoot his way out of it with little success, ending with a 3-of-14 mark from the field (including 1-of-8 from behind the arc).

Alex Len stepped up big in the fourth quarter. The Ukranian big man was outstanding down the stretch and finished his night with 15 points. If he continues to play well, it becomes easier and easier to trade Dedmon.

The fourth quarter was a vicious back-and-forth affair that saw both teams get after it on the defensive side of the ball.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, they gave up way too many second-chance opportunities on the offensive glass to guys like Al Horford and Aron Baynes. This, combined with the O-fer stretch in crunch time, was enough to give the 5th place Celtics the win.

Other Notes:

• Trae Young literally nutmegged Jayson Tatum. WE ARE ALL WITNESSES.

• Omari Spellman, the forgotten third newbie, continues to do all the little things right. A fiery sequence saw him sprint from one end to the other to deliver a crushing block, catch the ball in mid-air, and then toss it to a teammate, who was able to facilitate a Len dunk. Beautiful, mi amor.
• John Collins “quietly” tallied another double-double of 15 points and 11 rebounds.

The Atlanta Hawks next play the Orlando Magic this Monday at home. Keep it locked to Soaring Down South for Hawks news and analysis.