Celtics stars lead the charge to finish off the Hawks: 9 takeaways from Game 6
"It doesn't have to be pretty."
The Celtics held off a spirited attempt by the Hawks to extend their first-round series on Thursday, claiming a 128-120 victory.
Here are the takeaways.
1. The Celtics did what they needed to do on Thursday: They limited the damage.
Tuesday’s meltdown at the end of Game 5 left them in a difficult position — they had to absorb a large (and mostly deserved) helping of criticism from fans and media for letting a double-digit advantage slip away in the final minutes while looking to move on against a Hawks team that suddenly believed it could win not just a couple of games, but maybe the whole series.
As a result, the version of the Hawks that the Celtics faced on Thursday had a little extra swagger. Trae Young started red hot from the field, and even when he cooled down, his gravity warped the Celtics’ defense and helped five of his teammates score double figures. De’Andre Hunter and John Collins combined to shoot 7-for-12 from 3-point range. Clint Capela grabbed five offensive rebounds and helped the Hawks outscore the Celtics 24-18 in second-chance opportunities.
But the Celtics stayed attached long enough to see the Hawks cool down a bit, which was all they needed.
The Celtics might not deserve much credit for winning on Thursday given that they should have closed the Hawks out in five, but Thursday’s win was much more impressive to anyone watching. The Hawks had real belief that they could win at home and force a Game 7. The Celtics didn’t leave that to chance and willed themselves to victory.
“It doesn’t have to be pretty,” Jaylen Brown told NBC Sports Boston after the game. “We just have to get it done.”
2. The Celtics got big performances from both of their superstars in Game 6.
Brown, who dominated most of Game 5 until the final minutes, continued to shine with 32 points on 13-for-25 shooting. When the Celtics’ offense faltered in the first half, Brown picked them up for lengthy stretches, and his 13-point second quarter helped erase a seven-point deficit and turn it into a one-point lead at halftime.
Tatum, meanwhile, struggled enormously in Game 5, but he packed the box score in Game 6 with 30 points, 14 rebounds, seven assists, two blocks and no turnovers. He came alive in the second half — forcing the Hawks to double team but often beating the double himself off the bounce without having to pass, which splintered the rest of the Hawks’ defensive possession.
But Tatum and Brown were particularly good down the stretch as the Celtics built a lead the Hawks couldn’t overcome. Tatum buried a huge triple with just under three minutes remaining. On the other end, Brown emphatically swatted away a layup attempt by Dejounte Murray. The ensuing possession ended when Tatum mashed down a put-back slam that pushed the lead to eight.
3. Young had a bizarre game — he was otherworldly in the first quarter with 18 points on 5-for-10 shooting and he finished the first half with 25 points. He then proceeded to shoot 1-for-13 in the second half and missed every field-goal attempt he took in the fourth quarter was the Celtics pulled away.
The Celtics defended Young better in the second half — Marcus Smart in particular seemed determined to dog every step Young took in the fourth quarter — but Young also just simply cooled off a bit, which the Hawks couldn’t afford. He scored 30 points and shot 9-for-28 from the field total.
4. Grant Williams played 18 minutes, and while he made just one of his four field-goal attempts — a 3-pointer — he played solid defense and earned praise from Joe Mazzulla postgame for staying ready and professional after being largely out of the rotation.
“He was so key for us to close this game,” Al Horford told reporters after the game. “We do not close this game if Grant didn’t step up and play the way that he did.”
Expect to see a lot more of Williams in the next series against a much larger 76ers team.
5. Young and Smart tussled earlier this year, but they shared a couple of funny moments late in the fourth quarter. Twice, Smart defended Young trying to inbound the ball, and Young — in danger of a five-second call — threw the ball off Smart to force a timeout. Both times, the ball hit Smart in a … sensitive area.
Young made it clear to Smart that both plays were an accident, and Smart laughed both off with him. Still, as Young lined up again, Smart patted his chest as if to say “Can you hit me here next time instead?”
The Hawks had a ton of trouble inbounding the ball on a crucial possession with under 20 seconds remaining, throwing the ball off Celtics players three times before finally turning it over with a bad pass. The Celtics’ defense struggled for much of the game, but it showed up in important moments.
6. Al Horford struggled at times in this series, but he had a huge game while scoring just 10 points — tallying 12 rebounds, four assists, two steals and three blocks. He buried a big 3-pointer that gave the Celtics the lead with 3:30 remaining, and he stared down someone on the Hawks’ bench who was talking trash.
“There was somebody there, I’m not going to call him out, but I appreciate it because he got me going,” Horford said. “He said some stuff that I wasn’t very pleased with, and I took it to heart, and I was able to get that shot.
“So I appreciate him for talking trash to me. Some people you can talk trash to. You talk trash to me, probably not good for you.”
7. Mazzulla made a point to praise Smart multiple times postgame after media and fans questioned why he played late in Game 5 over Malcolm Brogdon and Derrick White. In Game 6, Smart was half of a deadly pick-and-roll with Tatum that repeatedly earned the Celtics great looks. His defense against Young in the second half, meanwhile, may have been more important.
“I thought Smart was tremendous, especially late in the fourth quarter,” Mazzulla said. “He got us organized.”
Smart finished with 22 points on 6-for-12 shooting.
8. Tatum had a message for a superstar in a different medium after the game.
“I want to send an apology to the legend, Janet Jackson,” Tatum said with a big smile. “We were supposed to close it out in Boston. She had to postpone her show. I hope she sees this. I apologize for that. But we got it done today.”
9. The Celtics will face the 76ers in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference semifinal showdown on Monday.
Mazzulla was asked what he expects.
“Not much different than this series,” he said. “They have two All-Stars, they’ve got a great bench, they’ve got a great coach. I expect it to be really hard, and I expect our guys to just stay in the fight.”
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