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It wasn’t pretty, but the Boston Celtics have taken a 1-0 lead in their first-round series against the Atlanta Hawks courtesy of some stellar first-half play.
However, during the third and fourth quarters, Boston struggled to take control of the game, as the Hawks upped their intensity on both sides of the floor, cutting into the Celtics’ lead and making life tough.
After the game, Hawks guard Dejounte Murray discussed his team’s improvements during the latter stages and noted how they will need to sustain that level of play moving forward if they want to succeed against the Celtics.
“Obviously, that’s a talented team,” Murray said. “They shot the ball well; that’s what they do. They shoot the ball really well. And obviously, tonight, we didn’t shoot the ball the way we want to, but at the end of the day, I think you turn you turn a negative into a positive, and the positive is how we finished that game competing from the third and fourth quarter.”
Murray ended the game as Atlanta’s top scorer, amassing a statline of 24 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, and 3 steals while shooting 40% from the field but 0-for-6 from beyond the perimeter.
Trae Young Explains How to Guard The Celtics
During his post-game press conference, Trae Young was asked how the Hawks would need to adjust their game plan to give the Celtics a tougher time in their next encounter.
“You got to try to force them to take tough twos,” Young said. “Not over helping too much, because that’s when they get wide-open threes and good looks at the three-point line. But we got to do a better job collectively at staying in front of our man and not them get layups. Because if let them get all into the lane for layups, then we got to help, and that’s how they get open threes. So we got to figure out how to just stay in front of our man and then not let them get easy looks”
Young is often seen as the Hawks’ weak point on defense, with opposing teams often hunting him out via screening actions. As such, the coaching battle between Quin Snyder and Joe Mazzulla will likely have an impact on how viable Young remains during crunch minutes down the stretch.
Jayson Tatum Praises Boston’s Defense
While Atlanta’s second-half performance was certainly an improvement, it also coincided with the Celtics taking their foot off the gas on offense as they looked to reduce the pace en route to the finish line.
However, when Boston needed to click back into gear, they found a way to do it via their defensive intensity and ability to get stops in pivotal moments – something which Jayson Tatum praised after the game.
“We have a special group,” Tatum said. “Really good defensive team. I think we can pressure the ball, and we have help behind us if we get beat. And not even just the bigs. The guards, everybody, just making those second, third efforts, call it winning plays. We just try to make as many of those as we can throughout the game.”
The Celtics will face the Hawks for game two on Tuesday, April 16, where Boston will be hoping to take full control of the series by going 2-0 up.
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Dejounte Murray Credits Hawks After Loss to Celtics