Malcolm Brogdon’s first-quarter buzzer-beater helps Celtics in major way in Game 2 win over Hawks
Brogdon's half-court heave was a major momentum shifter for the Celtics.
Malcolm Brogdon was in perfect position to catch the rebound when Derrick White swatted Trae Young’s shot away in the closing moments of the first quarter.
Then, he sprinted to halfcourt and banked in a heave from just in front of Lucky’s shoes on the Celtics logo at the buzzer.
The 42-foot shot gave the Celtics a three-point lead at the first-quarter buzzer. Boston erased an 11-point first-quarter deficit, and Brogdon’s basket broke a 25-25 tie in the Celtics’ Game 2 win.
Brogdon looked like he had some time to spare when he took the shot, firing away with at least a second left before the buzzer sounded. Even though he had some extra time to put up the shot, Brogdon didn’t want to take any chances. And he was proven right.
“Derrick told me I might have had another second or two,” Brogdon said of what White told him following his shot. “I told him, ‘I could take another dribble and shoot a rough shot or really take my time.’ I pulled up because I thought [the defender] wasn’t going to stop me. Luckily, it went in.”
The shot sent TD Garden into a frenzy and gave the Celtics a lift following a sluggish start to the game.
Boston took off from there in the second quarter, carrying a 61-49 lead into halftime. In fact, the Celtics never trailed for the remainder of the game following that shot, holding the lead en route to a 119-106 victory.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder reflected on how the shot changed the momentum of Game 2 in his postgame press conference.
“That’s tough,” Snyder said of Brogdon’s shot. “Sometimes those things when you go into halftime can deflate you a little bit. But, I think more than anything, I really felt like we were playing really good basketball. We kind of lost it a little bit, and that shot was impactful.”
The shot also got the Sixth Man of the Year finalist going. Brogdon was ice cold from the field prior to that shot, missing his first four attempts. But Brogdon’s buzzer-beater, along with hitting all four of his first-half free throws plus a couple of inside dishes to Robert Williams III, allowed him to find his groove. He finished with 13 points, eight assists, and seven rebounds to go along with a game-high plus-20.
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