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The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics 122-114 as Trae Young demolished Gang Green with a 40-point masterpiece at TD Garden. The Celtics had no answer for Young's long-range bombs as he took over with 16 fourth-quarter points for the Hawks.
Many of Young's threes in the final period were 28 to 30 feet away from the basket. No matter who Celtics coach Brad Stevens put in front of the 22-year old, there was no stopping him pulling up from deep or driving to the basket for a layup.
Boston Celtics kept it close in the first half versus Atlanta Hawks
Jayson Tatum was the lone, true scoring threat in the first half for the Boston Celtics compared to the Atlanta Hawks who had several players in double figures.
Tatum had 19 points in the first half and was taking advantage of his height or speed depending on who was guarding him.
In contrast to the Boston Celtics who seemed to be out of sync most of the time in the first half, the Atlanta Hawks were sharp and taking advantage of their opponent's miscues. As usual, Trae Young was the head of the snake, making ridiculous shots like the one below.
Even so, it was only a six-point lead for the Hawks at the half.
Atlanta Hawks got the better of the Boston Celtics in the 2nd half
In the third quarter, the Atlanta Hawks extended their lead to nine with these kinds of plays from Trae Young and Danilo Gallinari.
Young wasn't done in the third quarter, too. He seemed to be sharper, smarter and speedier than just about any player on the Boston Celtics. The Atlanta Hawks guard dissected the Celtics defense like it wasn't there, making threes from about 30 feet out.
Trae Young haters abounded on Twitter and one user felt hatred for the Boston Celtics at the same time.
Boston Celtics coach Brad Stevens tried the Hack-a-Shaq on Clint Capela, a poor free-throw shooter, with more than five minutes to go in the quarter. It worked the first time but not the second so he stopped doing it.
Boston Celtics fans were disgusted with their team, spewing their venom without inhibition on Twitter. The Celtics made a run at the end to cut the lead down to four with 13.7 seconds to go on three free-throws by Jayson Tatum, who scored 35 points. But it was too little, too late.
This was the Boston Celtics' third loss in four games while the Atlanta Hawks broke a four-game losing streak. The two teams meet again in Boston on Friday for a rematch that Celtics fans are no doubt looking forward to.
