By Jay King, Jared Weiss and John Hollinger
The Atlanta Hawks staved off elimination with a 119-117 comeback victory over the Boston Celtics in Game 5 of their opening-round postseason series. Here’s what you need to know:
- Trae Young, with the Hawks down 117-116, hit a 30-foot 3-pointer with 1.8 seconds left. He finished with 38 points and 13 assists.
- Atlanta was down 13 points with 6:10 to go in the fourth quarter but closed on a 23-8 run to win the game and keep its season alive.
- Boston shooting guard Jaylen Brown had 35 points on 15-of-23 shooting from the field in the loss.
- The Celtics lead the series 3-2. Game 6 will take place Thursday in Atlanta.
The Athletic’s instant analysis:
How Atlanta got it done
Playing without a suspended Dejounte Murray and down by 13 midway through the fourth quarter, Atlanta could have easily 1-2-3-Cancuned its way into the offseason. Instead, the Hawks will be playing a Game 6 at home Thursday thanks to a stunning 12-0 run that tied the game and a 30-foot bomb by Young to win it with 1.8 seconds left.
Young scored the Hawks’ final 14 points, playing all but four minutes in Murray’s absence.
Atlanta also got a surprising 22-point effort from John Collins, including two late-fourth-quarter baskets that started the run. The Hawks’ amazing shooting — 19-of-41 from 3 and 10-for-10 from the line — offset some porous defense, which included a miscommunication on a late jump ball that led to a dunk by Robert Williams and put Boston back in front with 25 seconds left. Not known for its defensive wizardry, especially with Murray absent, Atlanta also junked up its defense late with some blitzes on Jayson Tatum that produced turnovers. — Hollinger
Familiar issues bite Boston
The Celtics struggled through bad habits in crunchtime in games they felt they had in hand throughout the season. They’ve been confident they could flip the switch in the postseason. They did, until the lights went out in Game 5.
The Hawks started blitzing the Celtics’ ballhandlers and Boston just did not show much awareness as to how Atlanta switched up its coverages. Then Young just had an epic shooting night, just as he did the last two games. It was a recipe for disaster that is all too familiar for the Celtics. — Weiss
GO DEEPER
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Ripple effects of extending the series
Wow. That fourth quarter was stunning. The Celtics had the Hawks on the verge of summer vacation. Up 12 points with five minutes left, Boston just collapsed. Young hit some big shots, but the Celtics relaxed, just like they did several times in the playoffs one year ago.
Boston will still have two chances to close out this series and will still be heavy favorites to advance to meet the 76ers. But the Celtics could have made this a lot easier on themselves. Now, they’ve also given Joel Embiid some extra rest as he works to recover from a knee injury in time for the second round. — King
Should the Celtics be worried?
Probably not. The Hawks have proven through the first five games that they aren’t on Boston’s level, even as they managed to steal wins in two of them. But the ghosts of 2008 are lurking; an overmatched Hawks team taking the Celtics to seven would still be a negative for wear and tear on the Celtics. And if there’s one thing we know about the Hawks it’s that all roads lead to .500; a win in Game 6 and a loss in Game 7 would finish their season record at an even 45-45 … with only 48 hours in the last three months spent more than one game on either side of .500.
Moreover, even if it advances, Boston missed an opportunity to face Philadelphia in a more favorable situation at the start of the second round. In addition to Embiid having two more days for his sprained knee to recuperate before that series begins, Game 1 will be pushed back to Monday instead of Saturday as a result of this series extending. — Hollinger
Highlight of the game
Key stat
Young scored 16 points in the fourth quarter Tuesday and now has 60 fourth-quarter points in the first-round series. The 60 fourth-quarter points are the most through the first five games of a playoff series since Kevin Durant in 2011, per ESPN Stats & Info.
Required reading
(Photo: Maddie Meyer / Getty Images)
