Celtics lead the Hawks 2-0 as Jayson Tatum shines with 29 points to help Boston to a comfortable 119-106 victory over Atlanta… while Trae Young receives ‘overrated’ chants
- Tatum got a 10-board double-double in the 106-119 win that night
- Dejounte Murray was Atlanta’s leading scorer of the night with 29 points
- DailyMail.com provides all the latest international sports news
The Boston Celtics have taken a commanding 2-0 lead over the Atlanta Hawks in the first round of their playoff game after winning the second game at home again by 13 points, all thanks to a dominant 29-point performance from star Jason Tatum.
Trae Young, who was showered with “overrated” chants at the free throw line at TD Garden in the fourth quarter of Tuesday night’s game, had 24 points in Atlanta’s 106-119 loss. He shot 9-22 from the field and a dismal 2-for-8 from three-point range.
Dejounte Murray was Atlanta’s leading scorer of the night with 29 points on 11-of-24 shooting. He shot 7-of-13 from behind the arc and also had six assists and six rebounds.
However, the Hawks point guard, who was acquired from the San Antonio Spurs in the offseason, was Tatum’s second best, making 55 percent of his three points (5-of-9) and having 10 rebounds, which he a double double.
The 25-year-old attacker also had six assists. Derrick White was Boston’s second leading scorer of the night, with 26 points on 11-16 shooting (68.75 percent) overall despite shooting 2 of 5 behind the three-point line.
Jayson Tatum, 25, was the Celtics’ leading scorer on Tuesday with 29 points in the 106-119 win
Trae Young was especially singled out by the Boston faithful in Atlanta’s second loss of the series
Hawks guard Dejounte Murray, 26, was Atlanta’s leading scorer on Tuesday, also with 29 points
On the night, Boston surprisingly outscored Atlanta 64-40 in the paint. Down 20, the Hawks took it down to single digits late in the third quarter.
With Atlanta trailing 74–57, Young went to the bench and sat out the final 7:07 of the period, briefly visiting the locker room.
His teammates picked it up without him and defeated the Celtics 24-16 to come within nine – at 90-81 – going into the fourth.
Young returned to start the final period and scored four consecutive points with just over five minutes to play to make it 104–95.
But the Celtics responded with a 15-2 run—booked by a three-pointer and dunk by Tatum—to get it back to 119-97 with 2:16 left.
While the Hawks shot better on Tuesday, the Celtics kicked their overall energy up a notch by beating Atlanta repeatedly on the field in transition and outsmarting Hawks to lose balls.
A glaring example was in the second quarter when Brown pried the ball free as De’Andre Hunter drove past.
Malcolm Brogdon collected it and threw it in front of a sprinting Brown, who had split between Young and Dejounte Murray when they were caught watching the ball.
Derrick White was a problem for the Hawks all night, scoring 26 points on 11-16 shooting
The Celtics celebrate during the second half of their 106-119 victory over TD Garden and will now look to close out the first round of the playoff series against the Hawks in Atlanta
One thing that needs to be said, though, is that after digging into a hole in Game 1, the Hawks ramped up their aggressiveness early in Game 2.
They hit eight of their first 14 shots to take an early 22-11 lead, answering coach Quin Snyder’s plea to his team not to pass up open shots because of what happened in the opener.
The Celtics responded by picking things up on the defensive end, and over a span of over four minutes, Atlanta forced nine consecutive misses and five turnovers.
It helped Boston close out the first quarter with a 17–3 run, punctuated by a 40-yard buzzer by Brogdon.