After a very disappointing one-point loss in Cleveland on Tuesday, the Atlanta Hawks returned to State Farm Arena for its third game against the Boston Celtics in eight days. After splitting the first two encounters, the Hawks exploded in a 127-112 home win, with Danilo Gallinari putting together an all-ages evening.
While there was some doubt he would play after missing the second half on Tuesday with a concussion, John Collins wasted no time making an impact. He scored seven quick runs and, along with two three-pointers from Tony Snell, Collins helped the Hawks take a small lead in the early start.
The opening minutes were positive in their own right, but things really started to break in the direction of Atlanta with an 11-0 run to take a 26-15 lead. That kind of sprint would be strong under any circumstances, but in this case, Trae Young scored all 11 points on his own and connected with three triples and a floater to get the Hawks under control.
Young scored 13 times in a row for Atlanta overall, but Boston countered to cut the margin to 30-27 and force a Hawks-time-out. However, that was as close as the Celtics could get, as Young and Gallinari pushed the Hawks to high attack heights.
After 12 minutes, Young had 17 points and with Gallinari knocking down two three-pointers in the final phase of the first quarter, the Hawks took a 40-27 lead. After the quarter break, Gallinari continued to warm up by converting two more three-pointers and a lay-up to give the Hawks a 20-point lead. Then Gallinari hit another three-pointer home to extend the advantage to 50-27 and, dating back to the first quarter, the Hawks scored 20 consecutive runs.
After wobbling the Hawks a bit as the Celtics threatened (lightly), Gallinari continued his attack. He buried several 30 feet high offerings and started his night by making his first eight shots, including seven (!) Three-pointers in a row. When the explosion subsided, Gallinari had 23 points in just 14 minutes.
Atlanta had fun, very clearly, and that extended to Young digging into his bag of tricks late in the first half to beat the shot clock buzzer in style.
The Hawks led no less than 27 points before half-time and eventually took a 72-49 lead after 24 minutes of action. Gallinari and Young combined for 49 points, which equated to Boston’s full output, and the Hawks fired 61 percent from the floor and 13 of 21 from three-point reach in the first half.
Atlanta’s effort in the first half didn’t immediately translate into the second half, with the Hawks missing their first five shots and opening 2-of-9 overall. That allowed Boston to cut the margin to 73-56, but at the right time, Tony Snell and John Collins made contact with back-to-back three-pointers to clear the damage.
The Hawks never hit the same level in the third quarter, but there was one blooming. Kevin Huerter knocked down a three-pointer to push the margin back to 24 and immediately Gallinari added his ninth three-pointer of the game to set the Hawks back by 27 points.
Atlanta’s margin narrowed somewhat to 99-78 at the end of the third quarter, but the home side was certainly in a solid position. That position strengthened when the Hawks entered the fourth quarter strongly and Gallinari set a new franchise record with his tenth three-pointer.
On the stretch, the Hawks didn’t necessarily have to hold the pedal down, and it showed. However, the team made more history in the last moments, changing their 23rd pillar of the night to set a new franchise record.
Overall, this was an evening focused on the absurdity of Gallinari’s effort. He finished with 38 points on 13-of-16 shots, including 10-of-12 from three-point range. That three-point mark will live on in the Atlanta record book, and it was quite a show.
In support, Young added 33 points and seven assists, and he was brilliant in his own right. Collins put together a 14-point, 11-rebound double-double, and the team scored over 1.3 points per possession throughout the game.
After the win, the Hawks now head to Oklahoma City for a Friday night game against the Thunder.
Stay tuned.