The Boston Celtics and Hawks series is getting chippy

Ladies and gentlemen, the Boston Celtics-Hawks Eastern Conference quarterfinals series has officially entered chippy status.

Ahead of what’d turn out to be a 130-122 Game 3 loss for the Cs, Atlanta native Malcolm Brogdon called out his hometown fans for their lack of support — something that reportedly drove Al Horford to bolt in 2016 free agency to join the Celtics.

“I love Atlanta — this is home, this will always be home,” Brogdon prefaced before saying, “But as far as the franchise, no. I mean, historically, these fans haven’t been the most dedicated. And that’s myself included, coming up. I was always an NBA fan, but not Hawks specifically.”

As Boston.com’s Tom Westerholm relayed, retaliation was sought by the Hawks. And then further retaliation was achieved by the Celtics afterward.

“In response, Hawks fans booed Brogdon when he touched the ball on Friday,” Westerholm wrote. “At one point, they started a “Brog-don sucks” cheer, which Brogdon promptly answered with a 3-pointer. Meanwhile, late in the game, Dejounte Murray buried a 3-pointer over Derrick White, and after White fell to the ground, Murray pointed at his former Spurs teammate. A moment later, Smart hit a three and pointed right back at Murray. This series has largely been devoid of controversy and drama, but Game 3 percolated mildly.”

Jaylen Brown feels Boston Celtics took Hawks’ ‘best punch’ in Game 3

Following the road loss in his hometown, Jaylen Brown shared his belief that the Boston Celtics took the Hawks’ “best punch” on April 22.

“I think that we took their best punch,” Jaylen Brown said. “I don’t think we played as well as we could have played, and we still were in the game, so ultimately we had chances to win. They made some super tough shots down the line in the fourth quarter — Trae with the step-back over Al in the corner, Dejounte heavily contested in the corner as well — those were two big threes they made, and we just have to do better in the first three quarters so down the stretch we can be in a better spot.”

With the way these two teams have played this season — the Houdini specifically recalls a March 11 134-125 Celtics win in which Marcus Smart threw Trae Young to the ground here — it wouldn’t be shocking if metaphorical punches weren’t the only ones thrown by series’ end.