Final: Hawks 119, Celtics 117 - Celtics choke away late lead

Celtics vs. Hawks 

Game 4, 7:30 p.m.

State Farm Arena, TNT, NBCS Boston

Line: Boston -13

Refs: Josh Tiven (#58), Courtney Kirkland (#61), Tre Maddox (#23)

Injuries: 

Boston- Gallinari (out). Atlanta- None

Suspended: Dejounte Murray, for bumping an official after the game

Projected Starters

Boston: Marcus Smart, Derrick White, Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Al Horford

Atlanta: Trae Young, Bogdan Bogdanovic, John Collins, De’Andre Hunter, Clint Capela

What I’m looking for:

End this early: The Hawks have their backs against the wall, they are missing one of their best players, and everyone is counting them out. They will have one last gasp in them … unless the Celtics come out right away and lay the hammer down. It has to be decisive and quick, or else they’ll have a fight on their hands. The last thing the Celtics want is a Hawks lead after the first quarter or Atlanta taking momentum into the half. This needs to be over right away.

Box out, now more than ever: The desperation will present itself in wild crashing for offensive rebounds. If the Celtics box out, they can not only get the rebound, but they might draw a few over the back calls from overzealous young players like Onyeka Okongwu trying to make plays for their team. Get into position, clear the rebound (or take the foul) and get out into transition. The Hawks will be especially susceptible to transition points tonight. 

Keep their cool: The Hawks will be frustrated by how this is all going down, and I’m willing to bet that we get a few jawing matches with some pushing and shoving. The Celtics have to, above all else, keep their cool and not engage with that BS. The last thing the Celtics need is someone getting suspended for the next series because they got baited into something with the Hawks. 

How I think it will go:

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Hawks came out on something like a 10-2 run, followed by a timeout, followed by a 20-something-to-2 run that flips the score in a heartbeat. I expect the Celtics to take it from there and run with it, building a big lead by halftime, and a bigger lead by the fourth quarter. We might even see garbage time. 

The Celtics are favored by 13 right now, and I think they can double that -- or even triple it -- by the final buzzer.

Follow along below or in the comments during the game, chime in, and let’s have fun.