The Atlanta Hawks overcame a dismal first quarter in Tuesday’s Game 5 against the Boston Celtics with hot shooting the rest of the way, taking a 3-2 series lead.
The Atlanta Hawks shot only 18 percent in the first quarter of Game 5, scoring just 15 points in the period. Additionally, the Hawks made only six field goals on their first 34 attempts. Not good shooting numbers if you are trying to subdue a suddenly confident Boston Celtics squad.
Then the second quarter happened and what seemed like a lost game, with the Hawks down 29-19, suddenly became the moment that the Hawks and their fans have waited for the entire series to occur.
The Hawks got hot … really hot.
The Hawks sank 11 consecutive shots in the second quarter, turning a 10-point deficit into a 47-39 halftime lead. Kent Bazemore was the hottest hand, sinking three consecutive treys in the quarter. Baze finished Tuesday’s game with 16 points on four-for-nine shooting.
Mike Scott also contributed to the Hawks torrid shooting, finishing the game shooting two-for-three from beyond the arc to go along with 17 points and a plus/minus of plus-26 in 22 minutes off the Atlanta bench.
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The deep threat of Scott, Bazemore and Kyle Korver (who finished with 13 points) sent the Hawks on a scorching 74-33 run between the start of their hot shooting in the second quarter and the beginning of the fourth quarter. This was quite the change from the first four games of the series where the Hawks failed to make uncontested shots.
Paul Millsap torched the Celtics for 45 points in a Game 4 overtime loss, but the Hawks didn’t have to rely on the All-Star in Game 5. Millsap finished with only 10 points, but did everything else for the team on Tuesday. Millsap was active on defense and on the offensive glass, finishing with eight rebounds (three offensive), six assists, a steal and a block.
Jeff Teague played only 22 minutes in this blowout, but paced the team offensively. Teague finished with 16 points and played excellent defense on Isaiah Thomas.
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Dennis Schroder also rebounded from a poor Game 4 in Boston, finishing with nine points and two assists in 14 solid minutes. Though their still was tension between he and Thomas, Schroder calmed down and shot four-for-seven from the field.
While hot shooting definitely helped the Hawks during Game 5, it was once again their defense that allowed them to secure the victory. Thomas finished with only seven points before leaving the contest with an ankle sprain, demonstrating the excellent job that Atlanta did in forcing the Boston guard to give up the ball and being forced into unwanted pick and rolls.
At one point in this contest, the Hawks stretched their lead to 34-points. Even Kris Humphries — who saw his first minutes of this series in the fourth quarter — hit two bombs from deep. Brad Stevens and the Celtics waved the white flag after Thomas left the game.
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Everything regresses to the mean at some point; and at some point the Atlanta Hawks were going to eventually snap out of their slump make their shots. Game 6 is a new contest though; and the Hawks will need to continue their hot shooting to close out the series in Boston.