BOSTON – Robert Williams III stood in the corner as TD Garden rose to its feet. The Hawks’ comeback crept in the final quarter as well, waking up to realize Atlanta tied the game after trailing by ten minutes before Al Horford kicked a three-point layup. It fell off the ledge and fell into the hands of Williams III as he poured it up and for the lead.
Williams III drove to the other basket and rose to the edge when Trae Young slid in from Horford, and the Hawks’ point guard hit three shots from deep and hit a series of assists to lead Atlanta ahead after trailing by 10 points with 5:14 remaining. After Williams III earned a jump ball in the middle of the field, he lunged to the edge and landed at the end of the alley. This and a pair of white free throws with 7.3 seconds remaining gave Boston a chance to clinch the series.
The youth took her away. Another one from deep sense with one second remaining and the Hawks saved their season – 119-117.
The Browns donned right hand protection after he gave it up to go 11-for-15 in Game 4. He extended the increase with a 10-for-13 lead in the first half, hitting a pair of triples and scoring 23 points. His bag expanded to catch Tatum pocketing a rebound on what should have been an open throw. He jumped to the post and hit Jalen Johnson with a series of spinning pole motions before finishing on the inside, later dropping a left handed ball to the basket.
The run pushed the Celtics ahead 59-48 after trailing for most of a close first half to that point, managing 60% of the Hawks’ three-point shooting, including kicks by John Collins, Jalen Johnson and Onika Okonjo, players hovering at 30 or less. % of depths during the regular season. Joe Mazzulla tested the longevity of the run by matching Collins’ minutes with Robert Williams’ third in fall coverage, resulting in a 1-for-3 stretch of the Hawks’ big man.
Meanwhile, Malcolm Brogdon came into the middle of the quarter to take Boston’s lead and run it, scoring on a two-out, three, and finishing through DeAndre Hunter on a three-point play to quickly reach the double-digit scoring. Tatum scored after a slow start after Horford, who blocked five shots in less than three quarters, stopped Young in the lane and fielded Brown, who fired a pass to Brogdon, who found Tatum cutting paint. Young hit two long touchdowns to end the quarter that bounced around the falls, keeping the Falcons to within 10, where they would stay for the second half.
Atlanta upset Tatum throughout the game with double teams going 5-for-15, but often found Smart on his side getting smoldering or coming off the screens. Smart shot 4-for-8 and the Browns found him in the same position midway through the third, when Sam Hauser scored after a solid run in the first period that earned him double-digit minutes. Young’s alley to Collins after Tatum’s live ball turnover and three kept the Falcons inside number one. He met Hauser on the edge, who isolated all the chains, in the assist position after Young Rob drove in as Hauser rejected him and sent Tatum in transition to get the coveted slam.
Hauser split four three-point attempts and caught a loose ball offended by Tatum, threw it from the free throw line and it fell after hitting the rim twice and the backboard. He caught Tatum’s errant pass in the corner that was deflected off two Falcons and returned it to Tatum for two open goals at the edge.
Boston prepared for a 9-for-16 Hawks charge in the fourth as Young led the early offense and punctuated Hunter, Collins and Okonjo with passes. Blake Griffin got into the game and got the crowd to its feet, punching in the second from a Browns two-step run at the free-throw line off Atlanta to set up middle guard from Tatum. White blocked Young for the second time, who eliminated official Josh Tiven as they ran over the ground. Tatum hit Brown in the corner for a three out later and found White down for two.
The Celtics took an eight-man lead when Mazzola called a timeout to crown the Falcons’ three-basketball streak. The Browns missed a turnaround and Tatum lost the ball to Hunter, who deflected a pass with White opening the fairway and chased it down the backfield. Young hit a pair of three-steps back when Horford came back into the shift against him, and stopped on the next before fouling on him on the drive. A costly technical foul by Tatum put the Hawks ahead by one on Young’s three free throws.
Williams III caught a key stop and shot into an alley before Smart played strong defense and fouled Young up the middle of the field, boosting the guard to 35 points to go with his 13 assists and a one-point lead. The Browns set up White to drive on the ramps and arguably the best player in the series combined to put Boston back on the free throw line. Young stole the lead seconds later, going into the fifth and final position. Shooting 8-for-22, Tatum fired a prayer with 0.5 seconds remaining that landed wide to the right of the rim.
Game 6 is on Thursday in Atlanta.