Author: Monojit Mandal
The Boston Celtics advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs after beating the Atlanta-Hawks 128-120 in Game 6 on Thursday. The Celtics were boosted by the explosive duo of Jaylen-Brown and Jayson-Tatum, who scored 62 points together. The Celtics won the series 4-2 and went on to the conference semi-finals against the Philadelphia 76ers.
Trae Young’s 38 points, including a game-winning three-point basket, helped the Hawks force Game 6 with an unexpected win in Game 5. Young, on the other hand, struggled to recreate that performance in Game 6, scoring 30 points and dishing out 10 assists. He ran out of gas in the second half, scoring just five points.
Brown and Tatum took control of the game for the Celtics. Brown had 32 points and Tatum 30, and the two combined for an 11-0 run in the fourth quarter to put the Celtics in command. Former Hawk Al Horford hit a critical three-pointer to put the Celtics ahead, and Tatum followed with another three-pointer to increase the lead. To end the run, Brown blocked a Horford shot and Tatum hit a Horford miss to put the Celtics up by eight points.
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Despite their best efforts, the Hawks were unable to close the gap and the Celtics won. For the Celtics, Marcus Smart added 22 points, Malcolm Brogdon contributed 17 coming off the bench and Al Horford added 10.
The Celtics hit 18 of their 42 three-point attempts, with Brown hitting six of them and every Boston starter hitting at least one. The win sets up a clash with the Philadelphia 76ers in the conference semi-finals. The Celtics will have a tough fight against the 76ers, who are led by the fearsome combo of Joel Embiid and James Harden. The Celtics will host the 76ers at home in Game 1 of the series on Monday.
Results
Celtics 128-120 Hawks