On Tuesday night, the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics resume their Eastern Conference Best of Seven first-round series in Boston.
Injury Update for Atlanta Hawks – Boston Celtics
After a shaky start that resulted in a lopsided loss in game one in Boston, the Hawks have plenty of room to improve in game two.
Dejounte Murray led the Hawks in scoring with 24 points, eight rebounds, and six assists, while Trae Young was held to 16 points.
Young struggled offensively and ended up with more field-goal attempts (18) than points scored (16), as well as a poor shooting performance from deep.
“You can’t be down that much and expect to come back and win,” Young said. “But we still fought. We were being aggressive in that second half.”
The Hawks may need Young to be at his best if they want to keep the games close in this series, but performances like this won’t cut it against a superior team like Boston.
The Boston Celtics anticipate that Saturday’s game will be the first of many this playoff season as the team hopes to return to the NBA Finals and complete the job this season.
The Celtics wasted no time getting started on Saturday, outscoring the Hawks by 32 points in the first half before settling for a 74-44 halftime lead.
Boston struggled in the second half and needed a late surge in the fourth quarter to secure the 112-99 victory.
Jaylen Brown led the way with 29 points and 12 rebounds, and Jayson Tatum chipped in with 25 points and 11 rebounds.
Brown was one of two Boston players who finished the series opener with 25 or more points and double-digit rebounds, the other being Jayson Tatum, though Brown led the team in both points and rebounds.
During the regular season, Brown averaged career highs in both points (26.6) and rebounds (6.9), and he should be one of Boston’s most potent weapons as the team prepares for a deep playoff run.
Meanwhile, Tatum’s role as Boston’s go-to offensive player should not be called into question moving forward, and he is expected to lead the offense once more in Game 2 on Tuesday.
Danilo Gallinari, who underwent ACL surgery in late September, has yet to play this season, but his goal was to return at some point during the Celtics’ potential postseason run.
However, Boston will almost certainly have to advance through at least one round before the veteran forward will be able to play again.
