The Celtics missed a golden opportunity to push the Atlanta Hawks to the brink of elimination Friday night as they fell 130-122 in Game 3 at State Farm Arena.
Jayson Tatum finished with 29 points on 9-of-22 from the field and 4-of-11 from deep to go along with 29 points, 10 rebounds and five assists. Marcus Smart had 24 points on 9-of-19 shooting, including 5-of-12 from deep and eight assists.
Sixth Man of the Year award winner Malcolm Brogdon added 17 points, five assists, while Jaylen Brown chipped in 15 points and Grant Williams netted 14 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from behind the arc off the bench for the Celtics, as they still lead this first-round best-of-7 series 2-1.
Trae Young scored a game-high 32 points on 12-of-22 from the floor and nine assists to lead seven Hawks players in double-digits. Dejounte Murray had 25 points, while Saddiq Bey (eight rebounds) and Bogdan Bogdanovic each contributed 15 points each.
"Like I said last game, I wasn't worried," Young said in his postgame comments. "I knew I could play the way I need to. It's all about reading and making the right adjustments."
Atlanta had a 41-point second quarter to take a 74-67 advantage at the break, before being up 100-93 heading into the final frame.
The Celtics used a 10-5 run to open up the fourth period, but the Hawks responded with a 10-5 spurt of their own. Tatum completed a three-point play to get within two (118-116) with 3:02 left to play -- the closest they'd get the rest of the way.
The Hawks outscored Boston 13-6 to hold on to the win, nine of which came from Young, including seven straight points to hold off the Celtics for good.
"They made some tough shots, as we knew they would," Smart said during his postgame presser. "They're back in front of their crowd, they're back home. Get that little extra boost when you're back home. So we've just gotta do a better job of continuing to make things tough on them. You tip your hat off and move on to the next one."
Despite hitting 21-of-48 from 3-point range, Boston couldn't limit the Hawks' near 60% overall shooting as they played from behind the entire second half.
The Celtics will look to avoid a 2-2 series split when Game 4 tips off Sunday night at 7:00 ET on TNT.
Game Notes:
Boston was 48.9% from the field, including 43.8% from 3-point territory, while the Hawks were 56% from the floor and 15-of-34 (44.1%) from long distance. The Celtics were out-rebounded 48-29 and outscored in the paint 54-40. The C's dished out 31 assists (12 turnovers) on 45 baskets and Atlanta had 24 dimes (19 turnovers) on 51 made shots.
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