Celtics vs. Hawks: Game 1 Score and Twitter Reaction from 2016 NBA Playoffs
The Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics each won 48 games during the regular season, so fittingly, Game 1 of their first-round playoff series came down to the final minute Saturday.
Boston erased a 19-point deficit but couldn't take advantage of multiple open looks from three-point range late, falling 102-101 to the Hawks on the road at Philips Arena.
Al Horford led the way with 24 points and 12 rebounds, while Jeff Teague added 23 points and 12 assists. Kent Bazemore nearly had a double-double with 23 points and eight rebounds.
The Hawks won despite a poor second half in which the Celtics outscored them by 16 points. However, Boston was even worse in the first half, shooting 23.1 percent from the field, a season low for any half, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
Atlanta jumped out to a 30-19 lead after the first quarter by dominating underneath. Seven different Hawks scored in the first 12 minutes, and eight minutes into the game, they had a 12-0 lead in points in the paint, per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
The Hawks used their defense to lead to offense, as Thabo Sefolosha blocked Kelly Olynyk and fed Mike Scott for a dunk late in the first quarter. The Atlanta Hawks' official Twitter account had the video:
Point guard Isaiah Thomas did all he could to keep Boston in the game, scoring 27 points and dishing out eight assists.
His three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left in the game brought his team to within one point, but the Celtics were unable to steal the ensuing inbounds pass.
Marcus Smart scored 15 points off the bench and provided a spark for Boston with his hustle. HBO's Bill Simmons, a noted Boston fan, liked what he saw early from Smart:
However, Avery Bradley led the team in scoring early with 18 points. Boston took a hit when Bradley injured his hamstring with the Celtics leading by three midway through the fourth quarter. He did not return to the game.
Jeff Goodman of ESPN.com shared his thoughts on the Bradley injury:
It took strong efforts from the Boston guards in the second half to bring the team back after a horrible first half.
The Hawks used a team effort, as five players finished the game with at least 10 points. Bazemore (11 points and four rebounds) and Horford (11 points and five rebounds) were the top performers in the first half for Atlanta as it led 51-34 at the break.
Paul Millsap had nine points, five rebounds and two assists in the first half, including this dish to Bazemore early in the first quarter, via the NBA:
J.A. Adande of ESPN.com hit on Vivlamore's points late in the second quarter:
Atlanta finished the first half with a 26-8 advantage in points in the paint.
The second half didn't start much better for Boston, as it committed its fifth foul just 1:56 into the third quarter, putting the Hawks in the bonus for the final 10:04 of the quarter.
However, after their fifth foul, the Celtics seemed to find life, scoring the next seven points and cutting the deficit to 54-45. They continued their run, hitting nine of 10 shots, and got within five, 63-58, with 4:54 left in the third.
It seemed like Boston may have used most of its energy while clawing back into the game, as Atlanta responded with a 6-0 run on a Scott three-pointer and Millsap old-fashioned three-point play to push the lead back to 11.
Yet Boston showed it still had life, cutting the deficit to seven heading into the fourth quarter. Bradley hit a three-pointer as part of the strong finish to the third quarter, via the Boston Celtics:
It was quite a turnaround for the Celtics:
| 34 | Points | 31 |
| 21.3 | Field-Goal Percentage | 52.0 |
| 8 | Points in the Paint | 18 |
| 0 | Fast-Break Points | 11 |
The hot play continued in the fourth quarter, as Boston used an 18-8 run to grab its first lead of the game, 83-80, on a Smart three-pointer from the wing.
After shooting 2-of-16 from downtown in the first half, the Celtics hit nine threes in the second half.
However, they couldn't connect down the stretch, as Evan Turner, Smart and Jonas Jerebko all missed open three-pointers in the final two minutes.
Ben Axelrod of Bleacher Report noted it was odd that Turner, who hit only 20 threes all season, was even attempting a shot from downtown:
Teague, who committed just two turnovers, assisted on back-to-back baskets by Horford to break an 88-88 tie and put the Hawks in control.
Millsap and Scott both finished the game with 14 points for Atlanta, while Jae Crowder added 14 for Boston.
The series will resume Tuesday in Atlanta, where Boston will try to win for the first time in four games this season, including the playoffs.
Postgame Reaction
Teague discussed his play following the game, per ESPN.com.
"In the fourth quarter, you're going to get a high dose of me and [Horford] in the pick-and-roll, and me and [Millsap] in the pick-and-roll," Teague said. "Those are times when I have to be aggressive and try to make plays."
Teague had more than half of his team's assists. That caused head coach Mike Budenholzer to say his point guard was in, "attack mode," per ESPN.com.
The Celtics were at a disadvantage with Bradley out for the final half of the fourth quarter. Judging from Boston coach Brad Stevens' comments following the game, his short-term prognosis does not sound good, according to ESPN.com.
"He's very, very sore," Stevens said of Bradley. "He said on the court that he heard a pop."
Thomas did all he could to make up for Bradley's absence, but it wasn't quite enough. He said next time Boston needs to start the game better, per ESPN.com.
"We can't put ourselves in that big of a hole," Thomas said. "It just takes so much energy and so much time to get back in the game."
According to ESPN.com, Budenholzer alluded to the fact his team blew a lead it never should have.
"We just made one or two more plays down the stretch," Budenholzer said. "We can't let up for a second."
