NBA: Jayson Tatum, Jaylen Brown guide Celtics to 3-1 lead over Hawks
Jaylen Brown #7 of the Boston Celtics drives against John Collins #20 of the Atlanta Hawks during the third quarter of Game Four of the Eastern Conference First Round Playoffs at State Farm Arena on April 23, 2023 in Atlanta, Georgia. Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images/AFP
Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown each scored 31 points to lead the visiting Boston Celtics to a 129-121 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 4 of their first-round Eastern Conference playoff series Sunday night.
Second-seeded Boston led by five points after three quarters and outscored seventh-seeded Atlanta 37-34 in the fourth to take a 3-1 lead in the series. The Hawks missed 12 of their first 14 shots in the quarter.
Tatum also had seven rebounds, four assists and three blocked shots. Brown made 12 of his 22 field-goal attempts, including three of his four shots from behind the 3-point arc.
Jaylen Brown's strong performance in the Game 4 win helps the @celtics to a 3-1 series lead!
31 PTS | 12-22 FGM
Game 5: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET, TNT pic.twitter.com/HRSW1dlXMK
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2023
The Hawks were within five points with 3:36 to play, but the Celtics took control by scoring the next seven points. Atlanta failed to get closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Trae Young led the Hawks with 35 points and 15 assists. De’Andre Hunter was 11 of 17 from the field and added 27 points. Dejounte Murray finished with 23 points, nine rebounds and six assists.
Game 5 will be Tuesday in Boston.
Jayson Tatum (31 PTS, 7 REB, 3 BLK) delivers in Game 4 to help the @celtics secure a 3-1 series lead!
Game 5: Tuesday, 7:30 PM ET, TNT pic.twitter.com/MdpqRZp4w5
— NBA (@NBA) April 24, 2023
Marcus Smart (19 points), Derrick White (18), Malcolm Brogdon (14) and Robert Williams III (13) also scored in double figures for the Celtics. Al Horford did not score, but had 11 rebounds in 34 minutes.
Boston led 35-25 after one quarter and 65-53 at halftime. Atlanta went on a 9-0 run to make it a 53-49 game with 3:07 remaining in the second quarter, but the Celtics outscored the Hawks 12-4 for the rest of the half. Atlanta shot 36.7 percent from the field (18 of 49) in the opening 24 minutes.
The Hawks were within three points after Bogdan Bogdanovic made a 3-pointer with 23.5 seconds remaining in the third quarter, but Smart punctuated the quarter with a dunk to give Boston a 92-87 advantage entering the fourth.
The Celtics, who were outrebounded 48-29 in a Game 3 loss, had a 49-42 rebounding edge in Game 4 while outshooting the Hawks 51.7 percent to 43.9 percent.
