ATLANTA — Hours before Game 6, sitting courtside Thursday morning at State Farm Arena, Marcus Smart processed the Celtics’ Game 5 debacle. The point guard said the Celtics played not to lose. It cost them. It forced them to take an extra flight to Atlanta.
But the C’s had another chance.
This time, they didn’t let it slip.
For a fourth consecutive game, the Hawks gave them all they could handle. Trae Young started hot. His teammates didn’t back down, either. But two nights after they suffered a late catastrophic meltdown, the Celtics learned.
The Celtics, finally, delivered the final dagger. At last, they put their foot down and went for the kill. It took a few more nights than it should have, but they emerged with a 128-120 victory in Game 6. They survived the Hawks’ best shot and advanced to the second round, where they’ll face the rival 76ers. Game 1 is set for Monday night at TD Garden.
“It was time,” Jayson Tatum said.
Brown scored 32 points, Tatum had 30 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists, Marcus Smart added 22, each of them coming up big down the stretch. After a back-and-forth game for 42 minutes, constantly trading haymakers with the Hawks, the Celtics finally created the separation they needed. After failing in crunch time on Tuesday, they were nearly flawless when it mattered on Thursday. An 11-0 run, capped by a loud one-handed putback dunk from Tatum, ultimately sealed the deal.
“I thought our guys did a great job at the end of locking in,” Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said. “They wanted to win, they kept the momentum, the energy, the edge of the game, and they executed.”
The Celtics were stagnant offensively in the late stages on Tuesday, and they let Trae Young and the Hawks get too comfortable. Neither was the case on Thursday. The Celtics rediscovered what makes them great offensively and defensively. Smart led them into the right sets and spacing on offense. And they hit big shots when they needed to.
“I like how we didn’t relax,” Mazzulla said. “We were proactive, we were organized. We had the proper spacing and made the proper reads. Definitely different from Game 5. I thought Smart was tremendous, especially late in the fourth quarter. … He just made the right play.”
And, apparently, got an assist from a rabid Hawks crowd.
A minute after Brown tied the game at 113 with a 3-pointer, the Celtics forced a stop. On their next trip, Smart found Horford in the corner, where he drilled the go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:35 to go. Before heading back on defense, Horford turned around and said something in the direction of a fan sitting behind the Hawks’ bench.
“There was somebody there,” Horford said. “I’m not going to call him out but I appreciated it because he got me going. He said some stuff there that I wasn’t very pleased with. And I took it to heart and I was able to hit that shot. So I appreciate him for talking trash to me. There are some people you can talk trash to. Talk trash to me, it’s probably not good for you.”
The Celtics didn’t stop. Young’s 3-pointer rattled out on the next possession before Tatum hit a step-back triple. Brown then blocked Dejounte Murray’s layup attempt. Then, after Horford missed a wide-open 3, Tatum came in for a one-handed putback dunk to put the Celtics ahead by eight with 2:07 to go. He let out a scream.
There would be no collapse this time.
“We could feel it,” Tatum said. “Everybody was locked in getting blocks, chasing down rebounds, hitting big shots. We’ve been in that situation before as a unit and just finding a way, finding a way to win, making plays.”
Murray followed with a 3-pointer to bring the Hawks within five, but Smart responded with his own triple. De’Andre Hunter answered with another 3-pointer, but Smart’s layup with 1:07 to go was enough to close the victory.
After operating with extreme comfort offensively for most of the game, the Hawks scored just those two field goals over the final six minutes. Young, after 25 points in the first half, scored just five after halftime. The Celtics mixed and matched defensively, even throwing Grant Williams in for big minutes. They finally shut the Hawks down, and at the perfect time.
“Winning time, I guess,” Brown said. “Adrenaline. Just that will, that perseverance to finish the game. It was close. Both teams exchanged blows. We was both tired. We didn’t want to be the team going back home with the L. We just found a way to win.”
Added Horford: “Tonight there was that sense of urgency. And we understood how important it was to not extend the series, to get the job done.”
This was supposed to be an easy series for the Celtics. A gentleman’s sweep, at worst. It should have been, if not for Tuesday’s disaster. But the C’s think this experience may help them in this road to a championship.
They appreciated and respected the Hawks’ fight. The Celtics were pushed, maybe more than they expected. But they persevered, even if it took a little longer than it was supposed to.
“I think the way I describe it is like, in the playoffs, you got basketball, you got execution,” Brown said. “Then you got this fight that’s kind of going on. Atlanta, they might not have had all the Xs and Os, but they fought. They fought us. They offensive rebounded. They played hard. The effort. They used their athleticism. They didn’t back down from no challenges. That’s what we needed to step up.”
“I know the narrative of we were supposed to sweep them or it was supposed to be a cake-walk,” added Tatum. “But playoffs, that’s why it’s so special. Each game is different, each series is different. I’d say at this point playoffs hasn’t went how everybody would expect. There’s been some high-level basketball played by individual players and teams and great coaching.
“So, it was a great test for us. They definitely tested us.”
