1. Ridiculous First Half Scoring Display
The Boston Celtics were completely victorious over the Atlanta Hawks, winning 132-106. Boston had an incredible scoring night, especially in the first half. They scored 82 points and 52 of these points came in the second quarter alone. Via Dick Lipe at X, that 52 point second quarter is the second highest in Celtics history, trailing only the 54 point fourth quarter they scored against the San Diego Clippers on 2/25/1970. In the first half, Boston shot 30-48 (63%) from the field and 14-24 (58%) from three.
2. Jaylen Brown’s Homecoming
The day before the game, Jaylen Brown went back to his high school, Wheeler High School in Marietta where he got his number. Brown was a 5-star recruit out of Georgia and in his senior year of 2014-2015, Brown averaged 28 points and 12 rebounds to help lead Wheeler to a 30-2 record and the 6A state title.
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This homecoming must have motivated Brown in this game, finishing with 41 points on 14-30 shooting in only 30 minutes.
Brown happened to jump into this game, scoring 18 points in the first quarter. His first basket of the game saw him cut into the lane for a layup on the break. The next bucket came from Onyeka Okongwu. Brown attacked the basket, started making contact, and finished over the Hawks’ big man. The third basket came on a midrange jumper over Nickeil Alexander-Walker similar to his fourth basket which was a midrange jumper over both Jalen Johnson and Mouhaned Gueye. His fifth basket behind Jordan Walsh set a great screen that led to a wide open three. The last bucket was the best of the quarter where he drove to Okongwu, made him jump, and finished the And-1.
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The second quarter is where Brown scored his next 11 points, starting with another layup over Vit Krejci. His second basket was perhaps his best of the night when he was fouled by Krejci as he stepped up. Brown then blindly threw the gun into the circus, looking like Michael Jordan. Brown finished the quarter harassing the Hawks’ younger linebackers. His third basket came on another mid-range jumper past Alexander-Walker while his final basket saw him put CJ McCollum in the weight room on a driving layup.
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In the third quarter, you could tell Brown was in the zone and set the tone with his first shot from inside the logo on a deep three. His next basket involved Luka Garza laying a nice screen that Brown was able to get around for a layup. Brown continued to attack Gueye with his last two buckets. He went to work in the middle of the lane with a half-spin on the And-1 drive for his third basket. He then completed his return with a beautiful middle-aged juku.
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3. Sam Hauser, Flame Thrower
Sam Hauser is arguably the best shooter in NBA history to wear the number 30. Well, maybe not, but when he gets hot, Hauser can turn into the ultimate Steph Curry and completely take over the game. In this game against Atlanta, he finished with 30 points on 10-21 three-point shooting. His shooting numbers were a little bit better because he was shot in the fourth quarter trying to break the Celtics record for three-pointers in a game held by Marcus Smart with 11. Hauser has the most 3-for-10 three-pointers in Celtics history, his second 3-pointer at 3/217 and his first against the 3/217 Wizards.
Hauser did break the NBA record though, attempting the most three-pointers in NBA history without making a two-pointer. All of Hauser’s 21 shot attempts came from beyond the arc, breaking the previous record held by JR Smith, Malik Beasly, and Malik Monk at 17.
After hitting one three in the first quarter, Hauser went on a tear in the second quarter, shooting 6-6 from beyond the arc. The first three teams of the quarter were run pull up jumpers after Gueye’s attempt. The second came after Garza ran a screen into a pull up jumper over McCollum. The third was wide open from a corner after some good ball movement. Hauser felt he was the fourth when he got a quick three in Jalen Johnson’s recent contest. The fifth came with three goals from the wing with a good pass by White. Finally, he finished the quarter with his best performance of the night. After Brown missed a three, Hauser stole the ball from McCollum and all at once threw a heat check over Krejci that sent the Celtics bench into a frenzy.
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4. Neemias Queta Incredible Effort
Something that will be lost in Brown’s 41-Point Homecoming performance and Hauser’s 10 Three Pointer Game is how strong Neemias Queta was. Queta finished with 14 points and 7 rebounds on 5-7 shooting but it felt like he was aggressive on the boards and hunting his shots early.
This play at the 8:41 mark of the second quarter is a good example of what I’m talking about. After Simons threw a lob that Queta couldn’t handle, Gueye got the rebound for the Hawks. Queta didn’t throw in the towel on the play, he snatched the ball and went back up to get a two-handed thunderbolt.
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Another game I have to show is this brutal poster Queta has on Vit Krejci. With White in possession, Queta was able to come off a screen to receive the ball with an open path to the basket. Krejci however wanted to show some defensive effort and paid the highest price. Click! Click! Welcome to your Kodak Moment, Vit Krejci.
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5. Derrick White Does a Little of Everything
Derrick White finished the game with 7 points on 3-4 shooting but his fingerprints were all over the game. White tied his Celtics career high with 12 assists in the game along with 5 rebounds, 3 steals, and 1 block. White was able to show his defense on the first play of the second half. White intercepted a Jalen Johnson pass and put it back for an easy two points.
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I’d say his best assist of the night came on his last in the third quarter. White was around the top of the three-point line and fired a cross-court shot to an open Hauser for the corner three.
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6. Baylor Scheierman Rises
While Payton Pritchard was ruled out of the game with a sore left ankle, Baylor Scheierman was promoted to the starting lineup for the second time in his last three games and contributed well. Scheierman filled the stat sheet, finishing with 9 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, and 3 steals while shooting 3-6 from beyond the arc. Baylor was on display early in the game, getting a nice pass from Brown and hitting a corner dunk.
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The 3 steals are a big thing I want to highlight from his game tonight. The first came when he doubled off Jalen Johnson and was able to put it away. This led to a fast break for the Celtics which led to an open three pointer from Anfernee Simons. The second steal came when Johnson passed it to Okongwu under the basket when Scheierman managed to get the ball away from him and went the other way. The last steal might have been my favorite, though, catching a pass from McCollum and diving down to take it. Those are the hustle plays I like to see from Baylor Scheierman.
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7. Incredible Ball Movement
When I think of the best plays on the basketball court, somewhere at the top of that list is good ball movement leading to the basket. There’s something refreshing about seeing three passes near the perimeter in a wide-open three-and-under bucket. Celtic did a good job this time against the Hawks, finishing with 27 assists as a team. My favorite of the night came in the second quarter when Scheierman passed the ball to Queta. Queta passed to Hauser and skated toward the basket. Hauser then found White wide open in the corner who just zipped off the block for Queta to lay a wide open layup.
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8. Lockdown Defense
Not only did Celtic score a goal in this game, they also managed to stop the Hawks offense all night. Atlanta finished the game shooting 38-102 (37%) from the field and 15-46 (33%) from three while committing 11 turnovers. Boston also finished with 9 steals and 8 blocks on the night, imposing his will on a Hawks team that didn’t even look like it wanted to be there. It felt like Atlanta was playing a preseason game and Boston took full advantage of it.
Hawks Shooting Range Chart (Via NBA.com)
9. Glass Cleaners
The Celtics did a good job of getting the basketball back in their win over the Heat on Thursday and going into this game. Boston outrebounded Atlanta 55-47 and almost every player on the Celtics finished with at least 2 rebounds on the night no matter how many minutes they played. This is the kind of power Joe Mazzulla looks for when it comes to dominating the glass. If Boston can continue to climb at this rate, I wonder if they don’t look to trade a center at the deadline and ride the rotation with Queta and Garza and Jayson Tatum coming back.
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10. Appearance of the Maine Celtics
Whenever there is a blowout for this team, in the fourth quarter the doubles players usually get their chance to shine. This time, Ron Harper Jr. and Amari Williams were able to play and show good lighting. Harper Jr. played 6 minutes in the fourth quarter and finished with 3 points and 3 rebounds on 1-2 shooting. The Celtics played a great game that started with Xavier Tillman’s block and passed to Scheierman at the three-point line. Baylor then threw a pass to Harper Jr. where he was able to knock down three that were wide open.
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Williams played the entire fourth quarter and finished with 3 points, 4 rebounds, and 2 blocks. However, I would say his best game of the night came with his 1 assist. Simons found Williams who cut down the middle. Williams being a great facilitator with the ball in his hands, found Hugo Gonzalez back on the wing with three open goals.
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The two blocks Williams had were also impressive, showing his defensive interference. The first came when Corey Kispert tried to go coast-to-coast but Williams chased him all the way down and blocked his shot. It was called for the goalie but the Celtics reviewed it and it was overturned. His second block was also a good one, meeting teammate Asa Newell at the summit to return it.
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I love it when the Maine Celtics guys come out and put on a great team show. Amari Williams has really impressed me since we last saw him play. He looked very athletic and never looked lost on the field. Granted, it’s garbage time, but I wonder if the impressive game he showed in Maine this year will earn him a spot playing more minutes in Boston at some point this season.
