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ATLANTA – For the second time in four nights, the Boston Celtics staged a massive second-half comeback against a high-quality opponent.
This one, however, fell two points shy of a win.
Boston trailed the Hawks 51-34 at halftime of Saturday night’s Game 1in Atlanta after falling behind by as many as 19. The Celtics turned the tables quickly during the second half, however, and actually took a three-point lead during the final quarter before the Hawks held pulled ahead for a 102-101 victory.
“We can’t put ourselves in that big of a hole,” said Isaiah Thomas, who led the game ins coring with 27 points. “It takes so much energy, so much time out of us to get back in the game.
“We can’t put ourselves in a big hole like that, especially in the Playoffs,” he reiterated. “It’s too tough to come back and get wins.”
The Celtics learned that lesson first-hand, although they nearly pulled off yet another shocking victory. Boston led 86-84 after Thomas canned a 3-pointer with 5:53 remaining in the game but then went cold at the most critical juncture of the game.
Boston made only one more field goal from that point on until the final 20 seconds of the game. The Hawks capitalized by pulling ahead by as many as six during the final minute.
Still, Boston had a glimmer of hope as the clock ticked down to zero. Jae Crowder and Isaiah Thomas sandwiched 3-pointers, each of which made it a one-possession game, around two Jeff Teague free throws during the final seven seconds of the game before Atlanta held on for the win.
“We had a little bit of a cushion from the first (quarter),” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said after the game, “and we made enough plays down the stretch.”
Boston attributed its first-half struggles to its offense, or lack thereof. The team shot a woeful 23.1 percent from the field and 12.5 percent from long range over the first two quarters while totaling only 34 points.
The Celtics took more 3-pointers during the first half (16) than it did shots in the restricted area (15). Yet after the game, Brad Stevens and his players both stated that they were happy with how the offense was flowing. Their shooting just wasn’t up to par.
“I can’t remember off the top of my head five 3s that weren’t open, extra-pass, inside-out 3s,” Stevens said. “That, or (they were) part of the action where we were running something for Avery Bradley or whatever the case may be and he gets a shot. So I feel pretty good about those.”
Marcus Smart added to his coach’s comments by saying, “In the first half we were getting open shots, they just weren’t falling. Coach just kept preaching to us, ‘Just keep doing what we worked on. Just keep driving and kicking the ball.’”
Eventually, that game plan began to work. Boston caught its shooting stride early on in the third quarter while scoring 31 points in the frame. As shots began to fall from the outside, things began to open up on the inside, and before anyone knew it the C’s had clawed to within five points on multiple occasions.
Boston nailed many big shots as it eventually pulled ahead for multiple fourth-quarter leads. Unfortunately, it used up all of its clutch plays before the contest reached clutch time.
Atlanta leaned on free throw shooting down the stretch to capture its victory. The Hawks shot 8-for-10 from the charity stripe over the final 1:33 of the game, just enough to prevent Boston from pulling off yet another shocking victory.
The Celtics battled back and nearly grabbed a momentous victory during Game 1, and they deserve credit for that. But they now know that the Playoffs are a bit different than the regular season.
In order to win in the Playoffs, they must bring their A-game from the opening tip.