NBA: Payton Pritchard leads way as Celtics slide past Hawks

Date:

Share post:


In what may have been a preview of an Eastern Conference playoff matchup, Payton Pritchard had a game-high 30 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists to help the Boston Celtics defeat the visiting Atlanta Hawks 120-114 on Sunday in the regular-season finale for both teams.

Pritchard made a career-high nine of his 16 3-point attempts. Boston (57-25) received 27 points from Mike Muscala and a solid boost from Sam Hauser, who established career highs of 26 points and eight 3-pointers.

Bruno Fernando and Garrison Mathews each tossed in 19 points for Atlanta, which earned the No. 8 seed in the Eastern Conference and will visit No. 7 Miami on Tuesday in the play-in tournament. If the Hawks (41-41) win that game, they will advance and play a seven-game series against the Celtics, who earned the No. 2 seed in the Eastern Conference.

If Miami defeats Atlanta on Tuesday, the Hawks will have another chance to extend their season when they play the winner of Wednesday’s game between No. 9 Toronto and No. 10 Chicago at home on Friday.

The Hawks entered the 2022 play-in tournament as the No. 9 seed and advanced with victories over Charlotte and Cleveland.

Atlanta had a 31-29 lead after one quarter and led 64-61 at halftime, but the Celtics outscored the Hawks 39-26 in the third quarter and had a 10-point lead entering the fourth.

Both teams entered Sunday’s matchup locked into their playoff position, and that was reflected by the talent on the court. The Celtics played without six players who are regularly in their rotation: Malcolm Brogdon (back), Jaylen Brown (finger), Al Horford (back), Marcus Smart (neck), Jayson Tatum (hip) and Robert William (knee). Tatum will enter the playoffs as Boston’s leading scorer (30.1 points per game) and rebounder (8.8).

The Hawks rested Trae Young (groin), Bogdan Bogdanovic (knee), Clint Capela (calf) and John Collins (back). Young (26.2) is the team’s leading scorer, and Capela leads the Hawks in rebounds (11 per game).

Boston won all three regular-season meetings against Atlanta.

–Field Level Media

spot_img

Related articles

WNBA: Sun to remain in Connecticut at least through 2026

The Connecticut Sun will continue to call the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn., home for at least...

WNBA: No timetable for Caitlin Clark’s return to Fever

When Caitlin Clark is ready to return from her third injury of the season, the Indiana Fever plan...

WNBA: Brittney Griner gets win with Dream in return to Phoenix

Allisha Gray scored 28 points, Brittney Griner celebrated her return to Phoenix with 17 points and a team-high...

WNBA: Storm eager for Skylar Diggins’ return; Sky eager for next win

The extent of the personal issues that have sidelined Seattle Storm star Skylar Diggins is uncertain, but the...

FREE

Get the most important breaking news and analyses for Free.

Thank you for subscribing

Something went wrong.