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Hawks, Celtics battle in Game 4 Sunday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 4/24/2016  at  12:01:00 PM
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ATLANTA HAWKS (50-35)

at BOSTON CELTICS (49-36)

NBA Playoffs
Eastern Conference – Round 1
Tip-off: Sunday, 6:05 p.m. ET
Line: Boston -2.0, Total: 204.5

The Celtics will be looking to make this a 2-2 series when they host the Hawks in Game 4 on Sunday.

Game 3 was one of the most exciting games of the entire postseason and it was Boston that ended up prevailing in that one. The Celtics won the game 111-103 as three-point favorites and now have a golden opportunity to even up the series on Sunday. The big difference in Game 3 was that the Celtics were able to win the rebounding battle 56-48. The team that has grabbed more rebounds has been able to win the game in all three of these contests. One thing favoring Atlanta coming into this game is the fact that the team is 56-36 ATS when the total is 200 to 209.5 over the past two seasons. Boston, however, is an impressive 7-0 ATS in home games after having lost four or five of its past six on the year. The Celtics are also 36-21 ATS after playing a game as a home favorite over the past two seasons. C Tiago Splitter (Hip) is out for the year for Atlanta and SG Avery Bradley (Hamstring) and C Kelly Olynyk (Shoulder) are both out for Boston in this game.

The Hawks were unable to win Game 3 and a lot of that has to do with both C Al Horford (16.3 PPG, 10.0 RPG, 3.7 BPG in playoffs) and PF Paul Millsap (8.7 PPG, 8.0 RPG, 2.3 BPG, 1.0 SPG in playoffs) struggling. The two of them combined to score just 16 points in the game and that is not going to cut it moving forward. Millsap is going to really need to step it up, though. He averaged 17.1 PPG during the regular season and is averaging about half of that here in the playoffs. If he can’t find his game soon then the Hawks could be facing an early exit. One guy that has raised his game in the postseason is SF Kent Bazemore (16.0 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 1.7 SPG in playoffs). Bazemore had 20 points and eight boards in Game 3 and has now scored 20 or more in two of the three playoff games his team has played. If he can find a way to continue playing well then the Hawks just might be able to make up for the struggles of their big men. Another guy that has stepped it up is SG Kyle Korver (12.0 PPG, 5.3 RPG in playoffs). Over the past two games, Korver is averaging 17.0 PPG and he is 10-for-16 from the outside in those contests. It’s a very positive sign for a guy that has really struggled with his shot on the year. If Atlanta is, however, going to win this series then PG Jeff Teague (19.7 PPG, 7.7 APG, 1.3 SPG) will need to lock in defensively. He was torched by Isaiah Thomas in Game 3 and that can’t happen again.

The Celtics came away with a huge Game 3 victory and they would not have been able to do it without PG Isaiah Thomas (28.3 PPG, 3.7 APG in playoffs). Thomas had the best performance of the postseason thus far, pouring in 42 points on 12-for-24 shooting from the field and 13-for-15 shooting from the charity stripe. He was getting wherever he wanted on the floor and he was even hitting from deep, where he went 5-for-12 from three. Thomas does, however, need to make sure he keeps his cool in this one. He could have been suspended for striking an opposing player in the head in Game 3, but the NBA decided not to allow him to miss this game. They may not be as lenient next time around. Other guys will need to help Thomas in this Game 4 on Sunday, though. SF Jae Crowder (6.7 PPG, 8.3 RPG, 2.3 SPG in playoffs) and C Jared Sullinger (5.7 PPG, 4.7 RPG in playoffs) are two of the guys that will need to help their point guard. They combined for just eight points in Game 3 and Crowder was a miserable 1-for-11 from the field. If he can’t start to hit shots then the Hawks are likely going to win Game 4 and take complete control of this series. The x-factor for this Celtics team may just be SG Evan Turner (13.0 PPG, 5.0 APG, 5.0 RPG, 2.0 SPG in playoffs). He was big in Game 3, finishing with 17 points, seven assists and five steals in 34 minutes of action. He is not afraid of the big moment and that may allow him to see more minutes moving forward.


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