BSJ Live Coverage: Celtics vs. Hawks 7:30 p.m. - Red-hot hoops

BOSTON CELTICS (48-24) at ATLANTA HAWKS (41-32)

Location: TD Garden, Boston, MA

Game time: 7:30 p.m.

TV: NBC Sports Boston

Radio: 98.5 The Sports Hub

Celtics injury report:

• Jaylen Brown - QUESTIONABLE (left calf tightness)

• Neemias Queta - QUESTIONABLE (right thumb sprain)

• Nikola Vucevic - OUT (right ring finger fracture)

• Derrick White - QUESTIONABLE (right knee contusion)

Hawks injury report:

• RayJ Dennis - DOUBTFUL (G League, two-way)

• Keshon Gilbert - DOUBTFUL (G League, two-way)

• Asa Newwell - DOUBTFUL (G League, on assignment)

What to watch for: Wednesday night marked the biggest win of the season for the Boston Celtics. They took down the fully healthy Oklahoma City Thunder.

They will enter Friday’s game looking to carry over that momentum and take down the Atlanta Hawks. 

Tale of the tape: Friday marks the third of four meetings between the Celtics and Hawks this season. The fourth and final will be in Atlanta on Monday night.

In their first matchup of the year, on January 17, Boston wiped the floor with Atlanta on its own home court. They earned a 132-106 victory, propelled by Jaylen Brown’s 41 points and Sam Hauser’s 30 points on 10-of-21 shooting from three-point range.

Then, just 11 days later, on January 28, the Hawks returned the favor. They picked up a 117-106 win in Boston, led by Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s 21 points and Jalen Johnson’s 19 points, 14 rebounds, and seven assists.

Last game: As noted, the Celtics are coming off one of their most impressive wins of the year. They took down Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and the Thunder, winning 119-109.

Brown led the charge, pouring in 31 points, eight rebounds, and eight assists, and Jayson Tatum wasn’t far behind him. He had 19 points, 12 rebounds, and seven assists.

Standings check-in: The Detroit Pistons still sit atop the Eastern Conference, 4.5 games ahead of the Celtics. Meanwhile, the third-placed New York Knicks are just one game back of Boston.

Hawks check-in: Since the trade deadline, the Hawks have been one of the hottest teams in basketball. They’ve won three games in a row and are 14-1 in their last 15 games.

Jonathan Kuminga, whom the Hawks acquired from the Golden State Warriors at the deadline, has been playing well. Since joining the Hawks (a nine-game sample size), he has averaged 12.8 points, 6.6 rebounds, and 2.4 assists while shooting 50.0% from the field and 48.0% from deep on 2.8 attempts per game.

Alexander-Walker has been leading Atlanta’s offense lately. In his last 10 games, he’s averaging 23.9 points, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.3 assists while shooting 54.1% from the floor and 48.7% from deep on 7.6 three-point attempts per contest.

Johnson has put up 23.5 points, 9.4 rebounds, and 9.1 assists in his last eight games, shooting 50.7% from the field and 39.1% from distance on 5.8 three-point attempts per game.

Zaccharie Risacher has also been red-hot from deep range, shooting 50.0% from deep on 2.8 three-point attempts in his last 10 games.

One fun play: This is the progression of Tatum’s aggressiveness this season.

As soon as Tatum gets Chet Holmgren switched on him, he goes to work. And last season, Tatum made his money attacking big men off the dribble (especially the likes of Evan Mobley and Karl-Anthony Towns).

Tatum dribbles, gets Holmgren off balance, and drives. Then, it’s just a matter of reading the Celtics’ spacing.

Look at how many talented scorers are on the floor for Boston. Lu Dort is locked in on Brown. OKC can’t leave Sam Hauser or Derrick White open behind the three-point line. And Luka Garza shifts around the paint at the last second, so that occupies Jaylin Williams.

That gives Tatum plenty of room to find an open drive to the rim.