ATLANTA – Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder praised the unrelenting support of the home crowd in helping drive his team to a remarkable National Basketball Association victory on March 25.
The Hawks produced a comeback for the ages when they overturned a 30-point deficit and defeated the league-leading Boston Celtics 120-118.
Boston, who were confirmed as having clinched the East’s top seed earlier in the day, appeared to be cruising towards a resounding win after outscoring Atlanta 44-22 in the first quarter.
The Celtics then raced into a 30-point advantage midway through the second quarter before the Hawks woke up and began chipping into the Boston lead.
Atlanta kept the rally going into the second half, narrowing the gap further with a 34-22 third quarter before harnessing that momentum into the fourth quarter to complete a dramatic win.
“Tonight the way we started the game, and the way Boston started, their energy really gave us a lift,” Snyder said of the Atlanta fans.
“Anytime you’re down that much you have to have something out of the ordinary a little bit to get back in the game.
“And when you have a group of people you know who are behind you thick or thin, rain or shine – and there was a lot of rain early – they were a big part of helping the sun come out tonight.”
De’Andre Hunter led the Hawks scoring with 24 points, including a decisive three-pointer with 10 seconds remaining that gave Atlanta a four-point cushion and effectively made the game safe.
Hunter was backed by 22 points from Bogdan Bogdanovic while Dejounte Murray finished with 19 points, 15 assists and five rebounds.
Atlanta improved to 32-39 and remain in 10th place in the East, on course for a spot in the play-in tournament.
Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said his team paid the price for not killing the game off, adding that Atlanta’s physicality had caused his team problems in the second half.
“It’s a good lesson. Credit to them for battling back,” he said.
“I thought their physicality – they were extremely physical as soon as the ball got past half-court.
“I thought that messed up our offence, and they made us work for everything.”
Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who led his team with 37 points and eight rebounds, had no excuses after the defeat.
“It’s tough,” he said. “We were up a lot but we didn’t do the things we needed to do to win.
“The key is to not overreact. Take it on the chin and get ready for (the next game).”
Elsewhere, Donte DiVincenzo put on a three-point shooting clinic to finish with a career-best 40 points as the New York Knicks kept rolling towards the post-season with a 124-99 blowout against the league-worst Detroit Pistons (12-60).
He drained 11 of 20 from outside the arc, three away from Klay Thompson’s single-game record of 14 set in 2018.
Jalen Brunson added 28 points as the Knicks improved to 43-28 to remain fourth in the East, behind the Celtics (57-15), Milwaukee Bucks (46-25) and Cleveland Cavaliers (44-28). AFP, REUTERS
