The Boston Celtics (15-2) did not deliver a brilliant performance against the Atlanta Hawks (3-13). With the help of a strong Dennis Schröder, the Hawks brought the NBA’s best team to the brink of defeat. In the end, however, Kyrie Irving’s clutch performance was too much – Boston secured the 15th place with 110:99 (BOXSCORE). Victory in a row.
After the 46 point disassembly against the Kings a few days ago, Atlanta started exactly where they left off against Sacramento. The Hawks kicked off furiously and took the Celtics Defense apart in the first quarter: The result was a throwing rate of 64.7 percent from the field and a 16-point advantage in the meantime.
But in contrast to the Kings, Celtics have the best defence in the NBA so far. It was therefore no surprise that Atlanta could not pass the offensive fireworks display for the full 48 minutes. In the second round, guests Dennis Schröder and Co. at only 15 points and fought their way back to the halftime (50:44 ATL).
After the Celts even took the lead in the third section, a balanced and exciting game developed into the final phase. Just a few minutes before the end, Boston gained a small advantage with a 7-0 run. The Celtics didn’t give it any more, which was mainly due to the strong performance of Kyrie Irving (30 points, 5 assists, 4 rebounds).
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The Point Guard of Celtics always held the splitting in his hand during the crunchtime and sunk an extremely important threesome from the corner over the outstretched arms of Schröder to the decisive 106:97. Irving was supported by Jaylen Brown (27 points, 10/13 FG) and Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum with 14 points each. Daniel Theis was only used for 3 minutes (3 rebounds).
On the Hawks’ side, Schröder was the best man. The German scored 23 points (9/18) and 9 assists. Kent Bazemore added 19 points and 4 assists, John Collins scored 18 points and 7 rebounds. Despite a good overall performance, however, Atlanta was not able to break through the Celtics’ winning streak. Boston celebrated its 15th anniversary. Victory in a row.
Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics: Click here for the BOXSCORE!
Kyrie Irving. Although the Point Guard took a bit of a back seat (only 12 field throwing attempts), his influence on the Celtics’ offense was still noticeable. On the one hand he created good litters for his colleagues (5 assists), on the other hand Irving presented himself extremely efficient (10/12 FG). Also in the Crunchtime the 25-year-old was present with some important actions and led Celtics to victory.
Marco Belinelli. The veteran experienced a truly second-hand evening, especially in the offensive, for which the sniper is mainly employed, nothing came together. Belinelli only scored 2 of his 10 litter attempts for 4 skinny spots. From downtown, the Italian was 0/4.
Celtics coach Brad Stevens obviously found the right words after the weak first quarter to shake up his team defensively. Although the NBA’s best defence so far did not show any outstanding performance, the Hawks were increasingly bothered by their move to the basket. Thanks to Al Horford and Aron Baynes, the second half of the year saw a better closure of the zone, giving Atlanta a little more trouble. Nevertheless, the 47.4 percent of Hawks litter rate is still impressive.