Dallas scored its fewest points ever in a playoff game, and its.
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Boston Celtics’ Isaiah Thomas, center, looks to pass against the defense of Atlanta Hawks’ Dennis Schroder, left, of Germany, and Mike Muscala, right, during the first quarter in Game 1 of a first-round NBA basketball playoff…
Boston played six games this season without Bradley and went 3-3 during those contests, including a 106-93 win over the Hawks on November 13. The question now: How rusty is his game?
Just before Bradley’s injury, Boston was in the process of taking the lead after erasing a 19-point deficit. On the other end they attacked the paint for easy points, with Jeff Teague leading the way.
With the game tied at 88, Teague worked the pick-and-roll to set up a layup for Al Horford.
But Boston predictably clawed its way back and Teague – the Hawks’ X-factor because when he can get out and run and get to the rim, he can crank Atlanta up to another gear – had to go to work for much of his 23 points and 12 assists. “I’m not anxious at all, I have faith, I know my teammates and people are praying for me”. The Hawks called time out and managed to get away an inbounds pass that finally ended it. The biggest problem for the Celtics is that going small for the last 44 minutes of the game is an advantage in the transition game against most of the league. Now there are reports that he’ll have an MRI on Sunday and said he’s ready to spend as much time with the team’s medical staff as needed in order to be ready for Game 2 on Tuesday night. He finished with 18 points in 33 minutes. If the Celtics are hungry for shooting, then R.J. Hunter could receive a chance, like he did in the first half against the Hawks.
The Celtics suffered a blow when guard Avery Bradley had to be helped to the locker room with a strained right hamstring with 6 minutes, 42 seconds to play.
“He’s very, very sore”, said Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who wasn’t sure how long Bradley might be sidelined. “He said on the court that he heard a pop”. Atlanta, a team that won 60 games last season and was the East’s top seed, was on the verge of a devastating collapse at home in Game 1 a year later.
“We can’t put ourselves in that big of a hole”, Thomas said. They rely on Crowder to hold on for dear life against Paul Millsap, perhaps the most versatile scoring brute at his position in the game. Smart made 5 of 10. The Boston Celtics are shooting 31.4 percent from beyond the arc and 84.2 percent from the free throw line.
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“I don’t think they’re going to shoot like that again”, Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. “But I feel like when we’re a healthy team, we can beat anybody”. “He made shots, he made plays off the dribble, he’s one of our better perimeter defenders, and we need him to continue to be able to play in a number of different places in Atlanta”. The only scratch was forward DeMarre Carroll, who is also playing in the Eastern Conference Playoffs but for the Toronto Raptors.
