The Atlanta Hawks are hampered as the 2023-24 comes to an end. Without four significant players (Trae Young, Jalen Johnson, Saddiq Bey, Onyeka Okongwu), the Hawks faced-off against the Boston Celtics, the no. 1 team in the Eastern Conference at the State Farm Arena in Atlanta.
In the first half, the Hawks came out lethargic against the championship-hopefuls and found themselves down by 30 points. However, the Hawks showed more grit in the second half outscoring the Celtics 34-22 in the third quarter.
The Hawks’ newcomer Vit Krejci was instrumental in the comeback by hitting four three pointers and playing competitive defense against NBA All-Star Jayson Tatum. Krejci would finish the game with 16 points.
In the fourth quarter, the game remained competitive as each team lead changes continued into the final minutes. The Hawks were able to seal the game after Clint Capela pulled down an offensive rebound and threw the ball to DeAndre Hunter who hit a timely three-pointer with less than 10 seconds remaining.
The Hawks completed the 30-point comeback win which was the team’s largest in franchise history.
Hunter led the team in scoring with 27 points and DeJounte Murray added 19 points and 15 assists for the Hawks.
Following the game, Hawks coach Quin Snyder spoke about the historic comeback.
“What they did tonight I think is really unique,” Snyder said. “And, you know, we’ve talked about our fans and the support that they’ve given this team throughout the year. That energy really gave us a lift particularly late. But anytime you’re down that much, you know you have to do something out of the ordinary. And when you have a group of people that you know are behind you through thick or thin, they were a big part of the comeback.”
The Hawks will face-off against the Portland Trailblazers tomorrow before a rematch game against the Celtics on Thursday.
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