The Atlanta Hawks led the Boston Celtics 51-34 at the half of Game 1 of their opening round NBA playoff series, but the Celtics didn't quit. The tied the game at 80 with 7:22 left to play, and took their first lead of the game with 6:48 to play. It was a back-and-forth affair until late, as No. 4 seeded Hawks held on to beat the No. 5 seeded Celtics 102-101. The Celtics hit two late 3s, including one with one second left, but ran out of time to make another comeback late.
The Celtics couldn't buy a bucket from behind the arc early, and were just 2 of 16 from 3-point range at the half. But Boston found it's groove in the second half, hitting 9 of 19 3-pointers. Neither team had much success from the field. The Hawks hit 40.7 percent of their shots, while the Celtics hit only 36.3. Atlanta was a woeful 5 of 27 from behind the arc and Kyle Korver was 0 for 7.
The Hawks used a balanced offensive attack. Five players had at least 14 points, including Kent Bazemore's 23. Al Horford had 24 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Hawks. Jeff Teague played great, putting up 23 points, 12 assists and just two turnovers.
Guard play carried the Celtics. Avery Bradley had 18 points, while Isaiah Thomas had 27 and eight assists. However, Bradley left the game with a hamstring injury in the fourth quarter. Evan Turner added 10 points and eight rebounds, while Marcus Smart put up 15 points. Jae Crowder had a double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Game 2 of the Celtics-Hawks series is Tuesday. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET.
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