The Hawks are going into Boston with a 2-0 lead after narrowly beating a healthy Celtics squad in their first matchup and easily handling the shorthanded version in their second. And you know what? He entered the game having made only three of his last 19 3-point attempts, including an 0-for-7 performance in Game 1.
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Jeff Teague paced the Hawks with 23 points, while Kent Bazemore tallied 20 points and Dennis Schröder added 20 off the bench.
Boston, on the other hand, was again led by All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas who listed 16 points, three rebounds, two assists and one block. ABOUT THE PISTONS (44-40, 43-39-2 ATS, 43-41 O/U): Detroit is playing a physical series with no interest in backing down and rookie forward Stanley Johnson mixed it up with James during Game 2.
“Obviously, there’s certain things from the starting group, as far as how we want to play, spacing-wise”, Stevens said in explaining the move.
Turns out the Celtics have more left than most thought. Korver was really on fire, the last of his early flurry giving the Hawks a 24-3 lead just 6 1-2 minutes into the game. They’ve never swept a best-of-seven series and they’re now 1-5 in Game 3s after taking a 2-0 lead. Over the first two games of this series, the Celtics were outscored in the first quarter, 54-26. Somehow, the play didn’t draw a foul but it’s expected to be review by the league. “I can’t wait. Probably going to be loud and energized”.
“I was just in attack mode”, Thomas said. “I am pleased with the way we’ve ben able to play these first two games”.
Game 4 is Sunday in Boston.
Sullinger was called for a flagrant foul on Schroder later in the period.
Additionally, the absence of Schroder could take a toll on the Hawks. Bradley, the team’s second-leading scorer, went down in Game 1 with a badly strained hamstring and is unlikely to play the rest of the series.
If Boston wants to take a win at home from a team they have now lost a total of five games to (including regular season), the team will have to make some changes.
Was there some science behind this decision? And Ainge noted Jae Crowder has not looked himself since returning from the ankle injury he suffered in March. They’re deep, they’re unselfish, and they play smart.
Stevens stressed to his players that a better start won’t necessarily ensure a better result. They’re plus-20. So, the sample size in an analytical viewpoint is not strong.
But whatever he did worked – for everybody in green.
The Celtics scored seven points in the opening 12 minutes – an National Basketball Association playoff first quarter low since the shot clock era began in 1954-55. The Hawks were terrible on defense, missed open shots, couldn’t hit from outside the 3-point arc (2-for-17 in the half).
An early barrage of three-pointers from Kyle Korver set the tone for a one-sided encounter as the Hawks raced into a big early lead that Boston never looked like overhauling.
Speaking post-game, Mike Budenholzer praised the efforts of his versatile big men, particularly on the defensive end. “It’s on the players – we’ve got to do a better job executing”.
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For those of us who predicted this series was going to be a great one (ahem, me included) it was a startling game in its unevenness.
