Porzingis starts great, but is “frozen”, “Celtics” lose to “Hawks” again in thriller

Kristaps Porzingis | Photo: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Last night in the National Basketball Association (NBA), the Boston Celtics represented by Kristaps Porzingis lost to the Atlanta Hawks 122:123 in overtime. It was Boston’s second loss in a row, including both defeats against for hawks.

If in the previous mutual duel “Celtics” sowed a 30-point advantage and lost at the end, this time the whole game was a very equal battle. Porzingis got off to a great start, scoring 12 points in the first quarter, while he added five and three points in the second and third quarters, respectively. But with that, Porzingis’ productivity stopped. In the decisive moments, the “Celtics” got carried away with a one-on-one game, and the Latvian was practically not involved in the attacks – in the fourth quarter and in the overtime, he made only two shots in total, which flew into the basket.

The messy team play did not prevent the “Celtics” from almost winning – at the end of the regular time, when the score was 112:112, Jason Tatum had a chance, but his difficult long shot was inaccurate. Meanwhile, Hawks star Dejonte Murray was dominant in overtime, scoring all 11 of his team’s points, including one with 0.1 seconds to go. overtime he hit the game-winning shot at the end.

“Celtics” still had a break in which they could plan a play, but the last attack turned out to be quite curious – Derrick White threw the ball into the basket immediately from the sideline. This “shot” was, of course, not counted and the ball went to the “Hawks”, as a result of which the home team could celebrate the success.

Porzingis spent 40 minutes and 36 seconds on the court, which is his highest score this season. The Latvian stood out with 20 points (2p. 6/13; 3p. 2/7; 1p. 2/3), seven rebounds, two assists, one interception, three blocked shots, three errors and three notes. Tatum, who had 31 points, 13 steals and six assists, was more productive than Porzingis in the “Celtics” ranks, as well as White with 22 points.

The aforementioned Murray had a career-high 44 points for the Hawks, but he made 44 shots. Murray also had seven rebounds and seven assists. Bogdan Bogdanovich helped him with 24 points, and DeAndre Hunter had 21 points and 13 steals.

It should be mentioned that the “Hawks” won the victory with a weakened team – its leader Trey Young has not been helping the team for more than a month, Jaylen Johnson, one of the candidates for the NBA’s most advanced player award, center Onyeka Okongwu and Sadiq Bey, who will not play again this season due to an injury, did not go to the court.

The experienced failure has not changed the overall situation of the “Celtics”, as the Boston team with a 57-16 record is the leading team in the NBA and has already guaranteed first place in the Eastern Conference. Next game celts will be held on Saturday at 23:00 Latvian time, playing against the New Orleans “Pelicans” on the road.