Everything you need to know about the Celtics’ beating the Hawks 129-108 in BSJ Quickie Form
Box Score
HEADLINES
Eight straight wins: The Celtics got some reinforcements back in Gordon Hayward and Jaylen Brown on Friday night but they didn’t even need them against one of the worst teams in the NBA. The hosts rolled to a 24-point lead in the first quarter behind the offense of Kyrie Irving (12 of 24 points in first quarter) and Marcus Morris (6-of-8 from 3-point range) as they cruised to their eighth straight win with Al Horford (left knee) resting on the sidelines. Boston has won seven games during their streak by nine or more points and posted 113 points or more in all eight games of the streak. They now have the league’s ninth-best offense after spending the first 20 games of the season in the bottom third of the league.
Morris is on ? from 3! pic.twitter.com/gQqR9KVvih
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 15, 2018
Gordon Hayward looks sharp in his return:
A tough bout with the flu kept the All-Star away from the team over the past few days, but the 28-year-old looked re-energized after the time off. He scored 19 points and dished out five assists in 18 minutes in one of his most efficient performances of the year. The swingman knocked down 7-of-10 shots from the field and all three of his 3-point attempts. The short minutes should help keep him fresh with the second half of back-to-back looming on Saturday night in Detroit.
Theis finishes the Hayward lob! ? pic.twitter.com/BGnpSX2hfZ
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 15, 2018
TURNING POINT
With a back-to-back looming on Saturday night, the Celtics seemed committed to getting some extra rest in this one with their sense of urgency early. They opened the game with nine straight makes from the field over the first 5:22, building a 17-point lead before they even missed their first shot attempt of the night (an Irving layup attempt). The hosts maintained a lead for the remainder of the contest and held a double-digit edge for virtually the entire second half after fending off a 19-0 Hawks run in the second quarter.
TWO UP
Marcus Morris:
Hayward and Brown returned to the lineup on Friday but that did not stop the veteran forward from keeping up his red-hot shooting after the two highest scoring back-to-back games of his Celtic career. Morris knocked down his first three shot attempts from the night, all from 3-point range, to help raise his 3-point shooting percentage to a career-high 43.5 percent after a 6-of-8 night from deep. He finished the evening with 20 points on 7-of-12 shooting, the third straight game in which he’s passed the 20-point mark.
Kyrie Irving:
The All-Star put on a show in the first quarter, making five of his first six shots from the field, while dishing out a pair of assists and nabbing two steals. He toyed with Hawks’ defenders on numerous occasions, including this ridiculous bank shot from the left wing.
Kyrie's a magician. pic.twitter.com/LPdghwpIUx
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 15, 2018
He has now scored 20-plus points in five of his last six games after scoring an efficient 24 points in 24 minutes. He also matched a season-high with four steals.
TWO DOWN
Jaylen Brown:
The third-year momentum nearly stunted the C’s entire momentum in the first half by missing his first five shots from the field in a sloppy stint that featured rushed drives, unforced turnovers and lackluster defense. He’s still trying to do too much at times and it is taking the C’s offense out of its rhythm
Robert Williams in the first half:
He started his stint with a nice block of John Collins in the second quarter but it was all downhill from there as the C’s were outscored by 15 points in his three minutes of action as Atlanta posted a 19-0 run in the second quarter to get them back in the game. Williams made several defensive mistakes during this outburst, which earned him a seat until the second half. He bounced back with three blocks after intermission.
TOP PLAY
Passing on point ? pic.twitter.com/iN5E6qlLlK
— Boston Celtics (@celtics) December 15, 2018
TWO TAKES B-ROBB WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER
I’m not sure if Marcus Morris ever gets removed from the starting five this season:
It’s obviously not coming anytime soon with the Celtics in the midst of an eight-game winning streak but it’s pretty apparent now that Morris is playing at a level this season where his presence is needed in the starting five. He’s arguably been a top-three player on this roster all year long and his elite 3-point shooting provides a dynamic in the starting five that is going to be needed no matter who the opponent is in the postseason. Hayward may play well enough at some point to build a case to get his spot back but it shouldn’t come at the expense of Morris.
The Celtics are going to be the second-best team in the NBA by Christmas:
They have been beating up on an easy schedule but make no mistake about the level of dominance this team has quickly found right now across nearly the entire roster. Outside of a couple outliers, many of these players are playing the best basketball of their career right now (Irving, Morris, Smart, Tatum) and it's quickly turned this group into a .500 squad to a juggernaut. Even with tougher tests looming against the Bucks and Sixers at home ahead of Christmas, they are playing with the kind of offensive firepower right now
that we haven't seen during the Brad Stevens era. The Raptors remain the class of the NBA right now but the Celtics are going to be right there behind them by year's end.