Sports Writing (USA), Apr 25 (EFE).- A stellar Trae Young signed 38 points, including the last fourteen for the Atlanta Hawks, and led his team’s vibrant 117-119 victory on Tuesday in the TD Boston Garden against the Celtics to go up to 2-3 in the first-round series of the ‘playoffs’ and keep Quin Snyder’s men alive.
Without Dejounte Murray, suspended for a game for his recent protests to the referees, the Hawks were thirteen points behind against the Celtics who were already preparing to celebrate the pass to the second round, but Young changed the history of the game with a monstrous reaction.
The Celtics led 111-103 with 3.50 left in the fourth quarter when Young opened an amazing scoring fest. He was the only Hawks player to score points in the final 3.26 minutes of the game, but that was enough to change the history of the game.
He ended his tremendous game with a wonderful triple from eight meters with 1.8 seconds left that raised the final score to 119-117.
The series now moves to Atlanta for Game 6, scheduled for Thursday, with the Celtics one win away from a second-round matchup with the Philadelphia 76ers.
Young finished his game with 38 points and thirteen assists, as well as four rebounds, while John Collins had 22 and Serbian Bogdan Bogdanovic had 18.
The Celtics relaxed too soon and made life difficult for themselves in this series in which they came out as clear favorites.
Jaylen Brown, who continues to compete with a protective mask on her face, contributed 35 points, seven rebounds and five assists and Jayson Tatum had 19, with a modest one of ten in triples.
Even though the Celtics had a thirteen-point margin and a double-digit lead with seven minutes left, an 18-4 run by the Hawks gave them an unexpected 114-113 lead with thirty seconds left.
Young was flawless from the free throw line and hit five 3-pointers to wipe out the Celtics’ margin.
An ‘alley-oop’ between Tatum and Robert Williams again gave Boston the lead with 25 seconds to play and, after two free kicks from Young, White made it 117-116 with just 7.3 seconds left.
It was enough for Snyder to draw the play and Young made it with a magnificent 3-pointer that left the TD Garden speechless.
The Celtics had the last shot with 1.8 on the clock, but Tatum’s attempt didn’t reach the rim and sealed a momentous win for the Hawks.
It was the first loss at home for the Celtics in these ‘playoffs’, which had dominated the first two games of the series.
The Hawks will try to become strong in Atlanta, when they will again have Dejounte Murray available, in an attempt to perform what would be a true miracle.
The Celtics, despite the defeat, still have a home field advantage. Even if they lose in Atlanta, the eventual Game 7 would be played at TD Garden.
While waiting for the epilogue of the series, those who can enjoy are the 76ers led by Joel Embiid and James Harden, who overwhelmed the Brooklyn Nets 4-0 and have valuable days to recover energy.
andrea montolivo
