In a must-win Game 3 in their first round playoff series, the Boston Celtics turned to the smallest guy on their team to carry the biggest load. Isaiah Thomas came through with a career-high 42-point game on Friday, leading the Celtics past the Atlanta Hawks for a 111-103 win that cut Atlanta's lead in the series to 2-1.
Hawks vs. Celtics 2016 results: Isaiah Thomas scores 42 as Celtics win Game 3 111-103
Thomas scored a career-high to lead the Celtics to a Game 3 win.
David Butler II-USA TODAY Sports
After going down 2-0 to the Hawks in Atlanta, Boston looked like an entirely new team at home on Friday, thrashing the Hawks in the first quarter for a 37-20 advantage after 12 minutes. Atlanta trimmed the lead to 12 by halftime, but the Celtics’ opening statement was clear: they were better than the team that lost by 17 points in Game 2 while scoring just 72 points.
But the Hawks flipped the flip on Boston in the third quarter, beating them 33-22 in the frame. The fourth quarter was potentially the best one of the playoffs, with back and forth shotmaking and three-point buckets dominating the first half of the frame before defensive plays took over for the second. At one point, Thomas rejected an attempted layup, while Marcus Smart met Al Horford at the rim on a transition attempt that would have been a sure two points.
Boston is still behind 2-1 in the series after the win, meaning work is still left for one of the surprise teams of the Eastern Conference this season. Still, this is exactly the type of play that they’ll need to answer back and tie this series up 2-2 headed back to Atlanta.
1. You can’t hold down Isaiah Thomas forever
In Game 2, the Hawks ignored the rest of the Celtics and focused solely on Isaiah Thomas, trusting that their shooters wouldn’t be able to make up for the lack of Thomas. The gambit worked, with Atlanta successfully limiting Thomas to a meager 16 points on 4-of-15 shooting in the game. But Thomas has overcome the odds his entire career and he wasn’t going to stop now. On Friday, he answered his terrible game by scoring a career high. How’s that for answering back?
Thomas is a relentless scorer with a perfect knack for predicting just how defenses will try to stop him, allowing him to play a step ahead of them when figuring out how to make them pay. On Friday, some early made shots allowed him to constantly exploit Atlanta with pump fakes and getting them up in the air. Thomas went to the free throw line 15 times, knocking down 13 of them. It was a masterful performance for a player who has only ever needed to be wanted.
2. The Game 3 chippiness struck this series, too
A running theme during games at the end of this week have been the increased physicality. Whether it's Raymond Felton or Stanley Johnson or Draymond Green, players are becoming more and more frustrated at seeing the same team for several games in a row, and they're taking it out on the court. This happens in nearly every playoff series, especially the first round series were one team is often at a clear talent disadvantage.
Boston and Atlanta hit that moment in Game 3. The Hawks were called for two flagrant fouls in the second half, while the Celtics were called for one as well. Perhaps the play most deserving of being whistled a flagrant was totally missed right here -- there's a good chance the NBA upgrades it to flagrant status on Monday when the league office resumes business hours.
But this is just how playoff series go. As long as it doesn’t escalate, there’s nothing wrong with that.
3. The Hawks shouldn’t be too concerned
Boston won, but Atlanta’s still up in the series and has to feel good headed into Game 4. It took a career-high from Thomas and the Hawks only made nine of their 36 three-point attempts, both things that could easily reverse course on Sunday. Al Horford and Paul Millsap combining for just nine points is definitely something that will change, as the two star big men for the Hawks will almost assuredly combine for better outputs. The Hawks didn’t play terribly, but this was far from their best basketball game. Get that on Sunday, and there’s a good chance they’ll return home with a chance to end the series in five.
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