Atlanta sets 3-point record in capping winless Celtics road trip with a disaster
Celtics #Celtics
The thing about low points is there’s always a chance to go even lower.
It’s hard to imagine this Celtics season getting worse than it became Wednesday night, when the Hawks poured 3-pointers all over their heads and pummeled them, 127-112. But at this point, it’s hard to count anything out.
Boston (15-17) has lost three games in a row, and they have come in a variety of demoralizing ways. There was the loss to the Pelicans, when Boston coughed up a 24-point, second-half lead. There was the loss to the Mavericks, when Luka Doncic buried Boston with a pair of late 3-pointers. This one was the most embarrassing of the bunch.
The Hawks connected on 23 of 42 3-pointers, a record for a Celtics opponent. Danilo Gallinari was 10 for 12 from beyond the arc and scored 38 points. One night after not being selected for the All-Star game, Trae Young had 33 points and 7 assists.
Celtics All-Stars Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown, meanwhile, combined to go 1 for 14 from beyond the arc. The Celtics trailed by as many as 27 points in the fourth quarter before their third-stringers made the final score look less grisly than the game truly was.
Some observations from the game:
⋅ Kemba Walker sat out to rest on the second half of a back-to-back set, and veteran point guard Jeff Teague got the surprise start in his place. Teague had not played since appearing for nine minute in last Wednesday’s loss to the Hawks. Coach Brad Stevens said after that game that Teague was one of the better available options to defend Young’s pick-and-roll actions, so that was probably the thought process here. He completed an early 3-point play and had some decent moments on offense, but it’s hard to pluck any positives out of this game.
Teague finished with 14 points and 5 rebounds, but was a minus-22.
⋅ Stevens was asked before the game about the second half of his team’s schedule that was released on Wednesday. He said he had not even looked at it and was focused on finding ways to stop players such as Young. Then the game started, and Young showed why he can give coaches sleepless nights. The guard did whatever he wanted in the first half. He pulled up for a 3-pointer from the midcourt logo, he inbounded the ball off Grant Williams’s backside with just one second on the shot clock before retrieving it and scoring, and on and on. The point guard finished with 33 points and 7 assists, 25 and 4 of those coming in the first half, and sat the final four minutes with the game long since decided.
⋅ It’s partly due to a lack of available players, but Stevens once again mixed up his early rotation patterns. Semi Ojeleye and Robert Williams were the first two subs off the bench, and Carsen Edwards got a rare first-quarter chance, too. He hit a 3-pointer and went end-to-end for a layup after a rebound, but had a couple of glaring defensive errors. With 1:15 left in the first quarter, less than a minute after Gallinari had drilled his first 3-pointer, Edwards inexplicably left him alone at the right arc, allowing the Hawks forward to calmly measure and drain the jumper.
⋅ That was a bad sign for the Celtics. Gallinari struggled mightily in the two games in Boston last week, but he was warm and comfortable and confident on Wednesday, and his quick start turned into an absolutely dominant second quarter as Young cooled down on the bench. He started the game 7 for 7 on 3-pointers, including one with his foot on the mid-court logo and another about 10 feet beyond the left arc. Twenty-four of his 38 came in the first half.
⋅ Marcus Smart, who missed his 14th consecutive game because of a calf strain, got into the box score when he picked up a technical foul from the bench in the second quarter. The Celtics have missed his fire in a big way the past few weeks.
⋅ Former Celtics star Rajon Rondo missed both games in Boston last week with an injury, but he played Monday. Even though he didn’t score in 11 minutes, his presence was felt as he commanded the offense and seemed to get open looks for his teammates on each possession.
⋅ The Celtics showed signs of crawling back into the game twice in the third quarter. They pulled within 73-56, then missed a couple of baskets inside before the Hawks drilled back-to-back 3-pointers. They went on a late 9-0 run to make it 94-76 before Young pulled up for a deep 3 and Gallinari scored inside off of a steal.
⋅ Sure, the Celtics were without Smart and Walker and playing the second game in as many nights, but the Hawks are missing four regular rotation players and played on Tuesday, too.