Final: Celtics 134, Hawks 125 (4th) - Hawks make late run & Smart tossed but C's hold on

Game 68: Celtics (-5) at Atlanta Hawks, 7:30 p.m., State Farm Arena, NBCS Boston 

Injuries: 

Boston: OUT- Danilo Gallinari, Robert Williams (hamstring), Payton Pritchard (heel)

Atlanta: OUT- Bogdan Bogdanovic (back)

QUESTIONABLE- De’Andre Hunter (ankle)

Hawks probable starters: Trae Young, Dejounte Murray, Clint Capela, John Collins, De’Andre Hunter

Refs: Sean Wright (#4), Nick Buchert (#3), Matt Myers (#43)

Last time they played: Celtics 126, Hawks 101, November 16 -The Celtics built a big lead thanks mostly to the “other” guys. Jayson Tatum was cold, Jaylen Brown was in foul trouble, but Derrick White ran the team beautifully, Sam Hauser, Grant Williams, and Payton Pritchard banged 3-pointers, and the Hawks flat-out stunk. Then in the fourth, Brown and Tatum slammed the door to cap the blowout win.

A little something about this game: The Hawks are coming off two straight road series, winning two in Washington after losing two in Miami. In fact, the Hawks have been in a weird pattern of winning two and losing two for 16 of their last 18 games (they alternated a single win and loss in those other two). Young, who has struggled overall this season from 3 (33%), has hit 9 of his last 14 3-pointers, and 13 of his last 29 (45%). The Hawks are on the back end of a back-to-back.

How the Celtics win: The Hawks are in the bottom third of the NBA in 3-point shooting, and Young fancies himself to be a long-range assassin. He’ll pull up from anywhere and there's always a risk of him getting hot, but he’s also nowhere near as good a shooter as he thinks he is. So I say challenge him as a shooter, but don’t overreact to him. The worst thing that can happen is Young attacking overly aggressive closeouts and then racking up assists all over the floor. Let Young think he can beat you one-on-one and make him prove it. 

How the Hawks win: It’s really a matter of shots falling for the Hawks. If both Young and Murray are hitting, then it’ll be tough to beat them. They’ll also need to get back on defense. They don’t turn the ball over much, but the Celtics can rack up the points off turnovers and misses because the Hawks defense is not good.  

Things I’m looking for:

- Run! Run! Run!: Run off makes, run off misses, run off turnovers … just push the pace and watch the points pile up. I don’t trust the Hawks to get back consistently on defense, so I think Marcus Smart can really help the offense by really pushing the pace early in the game. The Celtics have a chance to get up by 20 early on. 

- Finish strong: I have a strong suspicion that Boston will drive people crazy by playing down to the Hawks in this game … or at least go up 20 like I said and then give the lead up. I’d like to see the Celtics go up big early and then actually close the door and rest late in the game. 

- Grant Williams… you know…: I’ve said what I need to say about Williams. Get him out there and get him right. 

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