Boston Celtics He was two wins away from glory in the last Playoffs and now he started the NBA Playoffs 2023 without leaving a doubt: it devastated Atlanta Hawks in the first half of the game to beat him 112-99 and make it 1-0 in the first round series.
The team now led by Joe Mazzulla, one of the three finalists for the best coach of the year award in his first season in the NBA, was a nightmare for the Hawks in the first half, which they won 74-44. The difference between the locals reached 32 points, at the beginning of the third quarter.
Atlanta, led by Dejounte Murray, suffered from their lack of accuracy on 3-pointers and still resurfaced in the second half against a more relaxed Boston and came close to narrowing the gap to single digits, so the starters didn’t leave the game until the end, but the victory of the Celtics was never really discussed.
That Jayson Tatum finished the game with 25 points and 11 rebounds and that Jaylen Brown did it with 29 points and 12 rebounds is in the plans of the Boston Celtics on any night of the season: they form one of the best pairs in the NBA and added 14 of Boston’s first 16 points in the game, when Atlanta was still close.
The unexpected surprise was in the great production of Derrick White, with a roster of 24 points, 7 assists, 2 blocks and 5 rebounds as well as a 4-7 triple, well above his 12 points and 4 assists average during the Regular phase.
White led Boston’s 45-point second quarter scoring 12 of them and signed his best scoring mark with the Celtics in the Playoffs, surpassing any achieved in 2022.
(With information from NBA)
