Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ 110-107 win over the Hawks in quickie form.
HEADLINES
Irving put on a show: The All-Star point guard had surprisingly failed to score more than 25 points during his first ten games as a Celtic, but he showed off nearly every trick in the bag on Monday night in Atlanta. Irving scored 19 of his 35 points in the second half with an incredibly efficient 14-of-22 shooting line (4-of-10 from 3) as he worked the Hawks’ defense for the better part of the night. The 25-year-old also chipped in with seven assists and was the engine in the Celtics’ offense that needed to score plenty to keep pace with the hot-shooting hosts.
The rookie comes up big: Jayson Tatum continues to not only be one of the best rookies in the NBA, but also one of the best scorers on the Celtics roster. He scored 21 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the 3-point win, but it was his corner 3-point shot that proved to be the dagger with just under a minute remaining for Boston. The trey was his third 3-point make of the night, and he’s now shooting 52 percent from beyond the arc on the young season.
https://twitter.com/NBATV/status/927731591899574272
Nine straight: This was the toughest test in crunch time during the streak, having to come back from fourth-quarter deficits on multiple occasions against an energetic Atlanta squad. It wasn’t pretty for a lot of the night, but big contributions late from Irving, Tatum and Al Horford helped Boston escape with their ninth-straight win and improve the team’s road record to an NBA-best 6-1. The impressive run sets the stage for a big showdown against the Lakers on Wednesday night at the Garden.
TURNING POINT
The Celtics were clinging to a one-point lead in the final minute of the game when Marcus Smart dribbled through a double screen at the top of the key and penetrated into the Hawks defense. With Atlanta collapsing on him, he whipped a low pass to Tatum in the corner, who recovered and calmly drilled the 3-point shot to give the visitors a 107-103 cushion.
TWO UP
Kyrie Irving: The All-Star scored 19 of his 35 points in the second half, despite facing constant double teams from the Hawks’ defense. He also tallied 20-plus points and 5-plus assists for the seventh time in 11 games this season, which is tied for the league lead.
Al Horford: We could have gone with Tatum here, but since we covered him already, Horford deserves a mention. His shooting was off the mark (5-of-13) for one of the few times this season, but his all-around contributions were spectacular: 15 points, 10 rebounds and 9 assists in his second straight double-double for the green. He remains on pace to have the best defensive rebounding season of his career as a 31-year-old.
TWO DOWN
First-half defense: The Hawks got a few lucky breaks early, but they were also moving the ball around incredibly well, which allowed them to become one of the first teams this year to give the Celtics’ defense problems. 54 points on 55 percent shooting in the first half would have been much worse if it weren’t for 10 Hawks turnovers.
End of bench role players: Shane Larkin and Abdel Nader both good spot minutes in the first half as Brad Stevens was searching for some defensive energy with a shorthanded roster (no Marcus Morris). Each was scoreless in their stints.
INJURIES
None
TOP PLAY
So much pretty ball movement
Around the ? pic.twitter.com/ZifFCrcjWi
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) November 7, 2017
