While most of the attention in the Eastern Conference has been focused on the top — Detroit, New York, Boston, and Cleveland — the Hawks had quietly been one of the hottest teams in the league, winning 22 of their last 30 games entering Monday night, including 12 straight at home.
So heading into Atlanta on the second night of a back-to-back to face a red-hot Hawks team without Jayson Tatum (Achilles repair management) and Neemias Queta (thumb sprain) was always going to be a tough test for the Celtics. Monday night, it showed, with Boston falling 110-102.
But this wasn’t a scheduled loss. The back-to-back and the absences aren’t the reason the Celtics lost. This was simply one of those rare nights when they were outplayed, something that hasn’t happened often this season, and it snapped Boston’s three-game win streak.
“Just not sharp in execution,” Joe Mazzulla said. “Obviously, Atlanta does that to you. They test your physicality. We just weren’t quite as sharp in our execution as we usually are.
Six Hawks finished in double figures, led by Jalen Johnson, who had 20 points (7-for-13), 12 rebounds, and five assists. Onyeka Okongwu added 20 points of his own to go along with 10 rebounds and three assists, while Dyson Daniels made 8 of 11 shots, including 2-of-3 from three. Daniels, who is shooting just 17% from three this season (106 attempts), has now hit two threes in three of his last five games.
Luke Garza (20 points, 8-for-9, seven rebounds) and Payton Pritchard (16 points, 6-for-14) helped the Celtics stay within striking distance before the game slipped away in the second half.
Which is where we’ll start with the takeaways from this one.
The game got away in the third quarter
Although it felt like a game the Celtics should have already been trailing, the game was tied at halftime. That’s when Atlanta blew it open.
The Celtics were outscored 36-22 in the quarter. They shot just 5-of-20 (25%) from the field and 3-of-9 (33.3%) from three, while Atlanta shot 13-of-19 (68.4%) overall and 4-of-6 (66.7%) from deep. The Hawks went on a 16-5 run over a nearly four-minute stretch in the middle of the quarter, then closed the third on a 7-0 run over the final 1:36. That stretch carried into the fourth, turning into an 18-4 run by the 8:29 mark and pushing the lead to 21, a deficit that proved too much to overcome despite a late push.
The absence of Neemias Queta was especially noticeable in that third quarter. The Hawks shot 8-of-10 (80%) in the paint, including 6-of-7 (85.7%) in the restricted area, repeatedly getting to the rim with little resistance.
Atlanta scored 48 points in the paint on the night.
Jaylen Brown had one of his worst games of the season
The raw numbers paint an inaccurate picture.
Jaylen Brown finished an assist shy of a triple-double with 29 points, 10 rebounds, and nine assists, but that stat line was heavily influenced by a 14-point, four-rebound fourth quarter — when the game was already pretty much decided.
It was good to see Brown, who missed the last two games with left Achilles tendinitis, back on the floor and playing significant minutes, logging more than 40 on the night. But this was a night to forget.
He misfired on 14 of his first 18 shots through the first three quarters, finished 9-for-29 overall, missed six of his 14 free-throw attempts, and turned it over six times, often looking loose with his dribble.
“I mean, I give credit to Atlanta, but that was probably one of my worst games of the season,” Brown said. “I missed a lot of easy shots. It was a very physical game, playoff-like atmosphere, and I didn’t think we adjusted quickly enough. They came to play, the refs let a lot of stuff go, and we didn’t adjust to the physicality. Good game to learn from.”
It was a rare off night for Brown, who said afterward he felt “fine” despite the injury that sidelined him for the previous two games.
It was also a night to forget for Derrick White
With Jayson Tatum, who is averaging 20.9 points since his return and 25.7 over his last three games, out, the Celtics needed White to shoulder a little more offensively.
White, who rested Sunday in Charlotte, finished with only seven points on 3-of-12 (25.0%) shooting from the field and 1-of-6 (16.7%) from three, logging a -8 in his minutes. It marked just the ninth time this season White failed to record double figures in scoring, and it dropped the Celtics to 3-4 when he scored seven points or fewer.
The Celtics had too many turnovers
Taking care of the basketball has been a staple not only of this Celtics team, but of Joe Mazzulla–coached teams in general. In each of the last two seasons, the Celtics have averaged just 11.9 turnovers per game, the lowest marks in franchise history.
This season, they’re averaging an NBA-low 12.3, which would rank as the third-lowest mark in franchise history behind the last two years.
That wasn’t the case Monday night. The Celtics turned the ball over 15 times, leading to 14 points for Atlanta. Ten of those 15 turnovers came in the first half, including seven in the first quarter, their most in an opening frame this season.
Without Neemias Queta, Boston’s bigs game them a chance
Making his fifth start of the season, Luka Garza was the Celtics’ best player on the floor Monday night, finishing with 20 points, nine rebounds (two offensive), an assist, and a block. It marked his second career 20-point game with Boston, and he set the tone early by scoring eight of the Celtics’ first 12 points.
Garza has proven time and time again this season that he can be trusted to step up, something that has been especially clear over the last few weeks with Nikola Vucevic out. But the Celtics also got solid contributions from Amari Williams, who has now appeared in just 21 NBA games (136 total minutes), and Charles Bassey, who is on his second 10-day contract with the team and saw his first real rotation minutes in green.
Williams finished with four points, seven rebounds, an assist, a block, and a steal in 13:25, while Bassey added three points, two blocks, and two rebounds in 5:52.
