BSJ Game Report: Celtics 120, Hawks 116 - Pritchard triple-double seals 57-win season

Everything you need to know about the Celtics win over the Atlanta Hawks, with BSJ insight and analysis

IN A NUTSHELL

The Celtics came out firing from deep, taking their first 11 shots from behind the arc. They hit plenty, but 5 turnovers for 10 Hawks points put them behind heading into the second quarter. That was played fairly evenly, and Boston was down 3 heading into the half with Payton Pritchard attempting 13 3-pointers. The barrage from deep continued with Sam Hauser raining a few down on the Hawks to start the half and Mike Muscala taking over mid-way through the third. Muscala dropped 18 in the third to put Boston up 10. Pritchard polished the Hawks off with his first career triple-double

HEADLINES

Career night from Pritchard: He set career-bests in points (30), rebounds (14), assists (11), 3-pointers made (9) and taken (16).

“It was great,” Joe Mazzulla said after the game. “The way his career has gone as far as playing time, not playing time, he's always handled it the right way. And he has a competitiveness and a professionalism and a work ethic about him that you always trust, no matter when he goes in, he's gonna be ready to play. And so I'm really happy for him and I have the utmost respect for him.”

Bombs away!: Pritchard and Hauser combined for 30 3-point attempts! They made 17. There were 47 games this season the Celtics didn’t make 17 as a team. The 25 made 3-pointers is the third-most this season, and the 54 they took is the fourth-most. 

That's a regular season wrap: 57 wins and the second seed is a pretty nice start to Mazzulla’s coaching career. 

TURNING POINT

Mike Muscala went into takeover mode in the third quarter, going for 18 points to help the Celtics get some separation. The barrage lasted for five minutes, between the 7:00 and 2:00 marks where he scored 16 of 18 Celtics points and assisted on the the one other basket in that stretch.

THREE UP

Payton Pritchard: It was funny to see him really going for that triple double. Once it was in reach, he clearly started hunting assists. He finished with 11, but I bet there are a handful of potential assists as well that were left out there. Either way, the career night was very welcome for a guy who hasn’t been getting the opportunity he expected. 

“My assists really came off of Sam, Mike, other guys hitting tough threes, so it made me look a lot better,” Pritchard said. “I just looked forward to these last two games as an opportunity to go out and play and show what I’m capable of, and that’s all that was on my mind.”

Only Larry Bird and John Havlicek have put up stat lines of 30+ points, 14+ rebounds, and 11+ assists. 

Mike Muscala: 27/8/2 night for Muscala who had the building rocking with that third quarter explosion. The 27 points is a career-high.

Sam Hauser: Two straight 26 point games for Hauser (26 is his career-high). This time around there were no dunks (he missed one, though). He was 8-14 from deep, which is great for him to see before heading into the playoffs. His time might be limited in the playoffs, but two great games of him not only scoring, but doing other things (6 assists, 5 rebounds, a block, and a steal vs. Atlanta) are great not only for his confidence, but the team’s confidence in him. 

ONE DOWN

Justin Champagnie: It’s not fair to expect much of a guy who is still trying to figure out where the bathrooms are. He had a rough shooting night (2-12 fg, 1-5 3pt), but the team will give him a good look. 

“For us, it was OK, let’s see if we can find a younger guy who we really like, that we think his upside is good that understands what this is about,” Brad Stevens said of signing Champagnie. “See if we can invest our time and energy in him and find somebody. We have to do some of that, especially with where we are. We haven’t had a first-round draft pick in a while.”

TOP PLAYS

ONE TAKE KARALIS WILL PROBABLY REGRET LATER

- Boy those bad losses look extra bad right now

I’m not too worried about the second seed, but Boston finished the season one game behind the Bucks and now’s the time where we look back at games like the loss to Cleveland when Grant Williams only needed to make one free throw and missed two, or the loss to Houston, or probably five or six others. 

It’s too late for that, and I don't want to stir things up because this team is fine. It just feels like a missed opportunity. They can make this feeling go away with a deep playoff run, but if the first round series is a pain or if Philadelphia figures out a way to break Boston’s spell on them, then this will certainly be something that's mentioned again. 

Next up: Miami and Atlanta play Tuesday night, with the winner facing Boston when the playoffs begin next weekend