Payton Pritchard exploded for 36 points off the bench, including six 3-pointers, as the Boston Celtics erased a 16-point first-quarter deficit to defeat the Atlanta Hawks, 109-102, on Friday night at TD Garden.
The Atlanta Hawks quickly jumped out to a 16-point first-quarter lead over the Boston Celtics and appeared on track to continue playing like a team that entered the game 15-2 since the All-Star break. However, Payton Pritchard had other ideas.
Pritchard scored 36 points, including six 3-pointers in a second-quarter onslaught, and the Celtics rallied from a 25-9 deficit to defeat the Hawks, 109-102, on Friday night at TD Garden.
Jayson Tatum added 26 points and 12 rebounds despite a grinding night from the field, going 8-of-24 on shot attempts. His spinning drive to the rim with 7:29 remaining put Boston ahead 97-86 and effectively broke Atlanta's resistance. Tatum sealed it at the free-throw line, converting all three after drawing a foul on a 3-point attempt to push it to 107-99 with a minute to play.
Jalen Johnson did everything he could to keep the Hawks alive, finishing with 29 points on 9-of-21 shooting. CJ McCollum added 21, and Nickeil Alexander-Walker contributed 20. The trio combined for 70 of Atlanta's 102 points. But the shooting touch that powered a torrid post-All-Star stretch wasn't there when the game was on the line.
Boston made seven straight 3-pointers during the second quarter to rally back into a game it had no business being in. The Celtics outscored Atlanta 32-22 in the fourth, finishing 40.0% from deep on 14-of-35 attempts.
Hawks coach Quin Snyder acknowledged the swing but stopped short of pointing to any single cause.
"I don't think there's one thing that's gonna really stand out that cost us the game," Snyder said. "I think we gotta play better."
Atlanta led 60-55 at halftime and entered the fourth quarter still within range. But a shooting performance that bottomed out at 39.1% from the field made it nearly impossible to hold Boston off.
"We had layups that went in and out," Snyder said. "It's gonna be hard to win the game when you shoot 39% from the field — that's really what it comes down to."
Atlanta's ball movement and spacing clicked immediately, and the Hawks pushed the lead to 16 in the first quarter behind 29 points in the frame. However, Snyder said the breakdown came when that spacing deteriorated and players stopped looking out of the paint.
"There were some times where we didn't have our eyes out when we got into the paint, and there were times also where our spacing did break down," Snyder said. "Those two things impact one another. When you're not spaced, it's hard to pass. When you get in a lane, you've kind of done your job — if you can get your eyes out, it's a chance that we're gonna get something better."
Snyder also credited Boston for the stretches that flipped the game out of the Hawks' favor.
"They had the one stretch where they hit some threes and just rattled it," he said. "You're not gonna hold the lead like we had the whole game. But we responded. We competed. We just gotta play better."
Despite the loss, Snyder framed the defeat as an opportunity heading into the final weeks of the regular season.
"On the margins we're gonna be able to look and see the things that we need to do better," Snyder said. "And that's the opportunity right there — is to get better and learn from it."
The Celtics played without Jaylen Brown, who was held out with Achilles tendinitis in his eighth absence of the season. Boston is 7-1 in those games. Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla said Brown is day-to-day.
Sam Hauser chipped in 10 points for the Celtics, who shot 46.9% from the field and went 19-of-23 at the free-throw line (82.6%). Atlanta finished 15-of-42 from 3-point range (35.7%) and 19-of-24 at the line (79.2%).
Boston improved to 49-24, second in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta fell to 41-33, with its 14-of-15 stretch suddenly looking a little more mortal.
The Hawks face the Sacramento Kings at State Farm Arena on Saturday night.