The Celtics continue to get the best of the Hawks, beating them 119-106 in Game 2 of their first-round series.
Joe Mazzulla is continuing to find ways for this offense to click, with the Celtics shooting 55.8% from the field and 45.5% behind the arc in comparison to Atlanta’s 42.6% from the field, and 33% from behind the arc.
"Confident about the lineups and the different lineups we can play,” Mazzulla said. “We’re doing a good job of getting those different lineups… Depth — I mentioned the number of players and the different ways we can play with the same guys."
Every Celtics starter besides Al Horford scored double digits, with Jayson Tatum leading the team in scoring with 29 points and becoming the second player in Celtics history to record 25-plus PTS, 10-plus REB, 5-plus AST, and 5 3-pointers made. The other was Paul Pierce on April 28, 2002.
Tatum shot 12-for-22 from the field and 5-for-9 from behind the arc. What was even more impressive about this performance was the fact that none of his points came from the free-throw line. Tatum didn’t have one trip to the line, despite driving to the rim for the majority of the game. The last time he finished a game without shooting any free throws was on February 1 against the Nets, where he dropped a more impressive 31 points on better efficiency.
Derrick White was second in scoring for the Celtics, scoring 26 points on 11-for-16 shooting and 2-for-5 shooting from behind the arc. White continues to be the unsung hero of this team and has become one of the best trades the Celtics have made in recent memory. Josh Richardson, Romeo Langford and a first-round pick in return for White, who is beginning to blossom, averaging 25 points a game in the first two playoff games this series while not being the primary option.
"Those guys are top-15, 10 guys in the league,” White said when speaking on his recent success playing behind Tatum and Jaylen Brown. “They get a lot of attention. It just opens up the court for myself. Just doing a good job of having good spacing, letting them do what they do, and when my opportunity’s there, I just do what I do."
Brown was third in scoring with a respectable 18 points, shooting 7-for-14 overall and 2-for-4 from behind the arc. The efficiency is there, shooting 50%, but there is only one basketball, and Tatum and White took over the game.
Marcus Smart continues to prove that he deserves to start for the Celtics over the likes of Brogdon after finishing the game with 14 points, six assists, five rebounds and three steals. Smart also finished the game with a plus-minus of +10.
As for Horford, don’t let his scoring output (eight) fool you. Horford had a great game, shooting 3-for-6 overall and 2-for-4 from deep. Fifty percent shooting, just like Jaylen Brown — but again, there’s only one basketball. Horford also had four rebounds, three assists, three blocks and one steal. Despite scoring the least amount of points of Boston’s starters, he had the highest plus minus (+20), which shows you how important he is to this team.
As for Atlanta, Dejounte Murray had himself a day, leading the Hawks with 29 points on 11-for-24 shooting, going 7-for-13 from three. Trae Young was second in scoring, finishing the game on an inefficient 24 points. But he continues to be a liability on the defensive end, finishing the game with a plus minus of -18 in comparison to Murray’s zero. Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter both scored 18 points and could each become a problem for the Celtics going forward if they forget how big of a threat those two players can be when Young is hitting his shots and opening up the floor for everyone else.
If the Celtics continue to play average basketball without turning over the ball too much, this series should be over relatively soon.