The third game ended with a final tally of 109-101, while the fourth game ended with a score of 118-107.
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On the other hand, Horford was drafted by the Hawks in 2007 and has helped Atlanta make the playoffs since his rookie season.
Two years removed from a dismal 25-win season, the Celtics were just glad to be there in 2015. So that year the Hawks went home in Round 1. The Hawks are tough to handle when Teague is at the top of his game. The rest is to be determined. The Celtics haven’t mastered this, but to advance against the precise Hawks, they are going to have to. Nonetheless he didn’t return, robbing the Celtics of their primary defender on Hawks point guard Jeff Teague. He totaled 24 points in the previous game against the Celtics.
The Celtics went on to lose the game by one point despite a late-game 19-point comeback. Neither team is expected to be able to challenge the Cavaliers in the next round, which makes the Hawks’ loss to an undermanned Wizards squad all the more egregious. Their bench outscored the Hawks’ reserves 29-16 and the 48 minutes of star point guards (Teague and his backup Dennis Schroder) Stevens talked about before the game, turned out to be just 36 minutes of Teague. He created 7 points off turnovers and 5 second chance points. He scored 15 points against Atlanta in their last meeting.
Jae Crowder was next to Bradley when he fell to the floor, and he pounded the scorer’s table in obvious frustration when he checked on his prone teammate. NOTES: Atlanta F Paul Millsap was named Eastern Conference Player of the Week for games played April 4-10. Celtics fans should not get their hopes up, however, because the way Bradley was writhing on the floor in agony after going down did not inspire much confidence. According to NBA.com/Stats, the Celtics tallied an offensive rating of 95.9 points per 100 possessions in the contest, a mark well below their season average of 103.9 points per 100 possessions. Granted, those shots were taken by guys like Marcus Smart and Evan Turner – not normally known for shooting well from outside. In the Hawks’ last game against the Celtics, he totaled 12 points. “The Celtics figured something out defensively during the first half, began attacking the basket in the second half, and were a couple of missed open 3-pointers from stealing a victory”.
“But, you know, I thought Marcus was really good (Saturday) night”. Then, with 3:31 remaining and the game tied at 88, Teague grabbed a defensive rebound, sprinted the length of the court before shoveling a pass to center Al Horford for a bucket.
To steal a phrase from a former Boston Celtics head coach, Avery Bradley likely isn’t walking through that door any time soon.
To better understand tonight’s matchup, let’s take in in-depth look at each team compared to the other. That misstep in D.C. cost Atlanta a spot on the opposite of the bracket from LeBron James and company, which looks even better with in knocking off No. 2-seed Toronto in Game of 1 of their series. During Game 1, Boston downsized to positive effect, basically playing small lineups for the final 44 minutes.
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Bradley, playfully dubbed Mr. Optimism in this space because of his unfailingly rosy outlook, suggested he’d like to be back on the court for Tuesday’s Game 2.
