Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports

Hawks Make History Against Eastern Conference Finals Contender

Originally posted on Last Word On Sports
By Quenton Albertie | Last updated 3/26/24

After going down 44-22 in the first quarter, the Atlanta Hawks looked like they were in for a long night. To be fair, they still were. Fighting tooth and nail to win, 120-118, the Hawks faced a steep uphill battle against the Boston Celtics.

Hawks Make History Against Celtics

With 4:23 remaining in the second quarter, Atlanta went down by 30 points against Boston. The Hawks were getting their offense out of the mud with Dejounte Murray’s playmaking. Then, a 3-pointer by Al Horford put the Celtics up, 68-38.

Murray was firing away at this point and missing. In fact, while he had six assists in the second quarter, he went 1-5 from the field and 0-2 from 3. By the time the first-half buzzer sounded, Atlanta was still down by 28 points.

Going into the locker room at halftime, the Hawks’ main message was to be resilient.

“We got down early,” De’Andre Hunter says. “The biggest thing we said going into halftime is ‘we gotta fight. The refs not gonna give nothin’. The Celtics not gonna give us nothin’. We just gotta keep fighting.”

“ , ‘ .'”

– De’Andre Hunter, to @TabTurnerTV1 pic.twitter.com/nkKXclGFIS

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) March 26, 2024

“That’s what we did.”

“Anybody can be beat any given night,” Murray adds. “It’s the NBA. We came out and competed.”

“We was down 30… letting the referees and everything else get to us and we wasn’t just playing our game,” Murray says of the team’s mindset during their forgettable first half. “… Came out at halftime and everybody was ready to play defense and be aggressive. We got a great win.”

The Hawks outscored the Celtics by 20 points (64-44) in the second half. Four players scored in double-figures, including Murray and Hunter. Meanwhile, Atlanta held Boston to just 1-15 shooting from 3 in the second half. The 3-point contests from Vit Krejci, Clint Capela, and Garrison Mathews stood out during that stretch.

Tonight’s 30-point comeback marks Atlanta’s largest comeback win in the play-by-play era. Per Elias Sports, entering tonight, the largest deficit the Hawks have overcome in a win since 1997-98, regardless of opponent, was 27 points vs. Boston on 1/25/13.

— Hawks PR (@HawksPR) March 26, 2024

Up by 1 with 17.5 seconds remaining, Hunter’s final 3 closed the door on the Celtics.

Dre hit the big one. pic.twitter.com/eWG2bkXcY6

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) March 26, 2024

Their 30-point comeback was their largest in the play-by-play era. The Los Angeles Lakers were the last team to come back from 30 or more points, achieving the feat against the Dallas Mavericks in 2002.

An Imminent Return

The Hawks are now 8-7 since Trae Young sustained a finger injury that required surgery.

Given a four-week recovery timetable on Feb. 25, Young’s return should be imminent. Atlanta’s next game is against the Portland Trail Blazers on Wednesday. A rebuilding team that’s focused on player development more than wins, the Hawks’ upcoming matchup with the Blazers could be an ideal game to work Young back into the fold.

This article first appeared on Last Word On Sports and was syndicated with permission.

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