Celtics Set NBA Record for Lowest-Scoring 1st Quarter in Playoff History

After shooting 36.3 percent from the field in their 102-101 Game 1 loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday, the Boston Celtics couldn't shake their offensive woes when Game 2 rolled around Tuesday evening. 

According to Basketball-Reference.com (h/t CBSSports.com's Matt Moore), the Celtics set a new record for postseason futility when they scored an all-time low seven points in the first quarter. 

All told, the Celtics shot just 3-of-23 from the field in the opening frame, including a ghastly 0-of-6 from beyond the arc.   

Credit: NBA.com/Stats

Following a disastrous first 12 minutes, the Celtics opened the first four minutes of the second quarter by scoring 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting, per ESPN Stats & Info on Twitter. And as the Boston Herald's Steve Bulpett noted, the Celtics also scored on seven straight possessions during a second-quarter stretch. 

However, even that wasn't enough to trim the lead much, as the Celtics finished the first half with just 28 points—the fewest by any team in postseason play since Boston posted just 27 in a 2013 game against the New York Knicks, per NBC Sports' Dan Feldman. 

More than anything, Boston's historically bad first quarter served as a reminder that Atlanta's defense should be considered among the league's elite. Not only did the Hawks rank No. 2 overall in defensive rating (98.8) at season's end, but they wielded the league's stingiest attack over the final few months of the 2015-16 campaign. 

Following the All-Star break, the Hawks allowed a league-best 96.8 points per 100 possessions—2.5 points better than the San Antonio Spurs during that stretch. 

For a Celtics team that finished the regular season ranked 24th in overall field-goal percentage (43.9) and 28th in three-point field-goal conversion rate (33.5 percent), that's hardly encouraging, as ESPN.com's Zach Lowe noted: 

Already without three-and-D wing extraordinaire Avery Bradley (hamstring), the Celtics will need youngsters such as Terry Rozier, R.J. Hunter and Marcus Smart to play well to take some pressure off Isaiah Thomas, Jae Crowder and Evan Turner. 

Advanced stats courtesy of NBA.com.