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Three Takeaways: Boston Celtics vs Atlanta Hawks

By Ryan Eggers

ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 19: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics and Vince Carter #15 of the Atlanta Hawks exchange handshakes at the beginning of the game on January 19, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - JANUARY 19: Kyrie Irving #11 of the Boston Celtics and Vince Carter #15 of the Atlanta Hawks exchange handshakes at the beginning of the game on January 19, 2019 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this Photograph, user is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2019 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Boston Celtics eeked out of Atlanta with a win last night, turning a great fourth quarter into a 113-105 victory. They are now 28-18 on the season.

2019 has been a frustrating year to watch the Boston Celtics.

Coming off the tails of two impressive wins, the former being against the top-seeded Toronto, the Celtics flew to Atlanta for the second game of a back-to-back, and their third game in four nights. Any game with that amount of rest will be a challenge, but … it’s the Hawks.

Despite their young talent, Atlanta still isn’t a threat in the East, and Boston took care of them handedly in their first two meetings. This shouldn’t be a game the Celtics lose.

But, through the first three quarters on Saturday, that’s what it looked like. The Celtics didn’t have many offensive ideas, their defense lacked urgency and the Hawks kept making assisted buckets and deep threes. That’s a recipe for disaster, and the final product was almost such.

Marcus Smart was tossed in the third. Gordon Hayward was out for personal reasons (hopefully, the birth of his child). Things didn’t look good. With some heroics from Kyrie Irving and a re-energized team in the fourth quarter, though, the Celtics finally took back the lead and eventually won the game, 113-105.

It’s the Celtics third straight win, which is great. The Celtics were 2-5 in back-to-back situations before last night – any win you can get in that scenario is crucial. Still, though, there’s no denying that this team looked putrid for three quarters of basketball, and almost dropped a very winnable game in the middle of a very tight East race.

Here are three takeaways from last night’s action.

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