By Field Level Media
The Hawks will look for revenge against the Boston Celtics on Monday night when the teams reconvene in Atlanta.
Payton Pritchard scored 36 points and Jayson Tatum collected 26 points and 12 rebounds to propel the host Celtics to a 109-102 victory over the Hawks on Friday.
Boston (50-24) played without Jaylen Brown (Achilles tendinitis), who also sat out Boston’s 114-99 victory at Charlotte on Sunday night. Brown will return to the lineup Monday.
Jalen Johnson led Atlanta (42-33) with 29 points in the loss to Boston. But the Hawks have won 15 of their last 17 games overall and their past 12 contests at home. They already have clinched a postseason berth and are in sixth place in the Eastern Conference.
Monday’s game will be the fourth and final regular-season meeting between the Celtics and Hawks this season. Boston has won two of the first three meetings.
Boston, which is in second place in the East, clinched a top-six playoff berth with its win against Charlotte. The Celtics have made the playoffs in each of the last 12 years, the longest active playoff streak in the NBA. Tatum scored a season-high 32 points in the win, but will sit out Monday’s game (Achilles repair management).
“We know if we want to win a championship we need him at a high level,” Pritchard said. “So it’s definitely encouraging, but he’s getting better and better each game and looking more and more like himself.”
The victory over the Hornets also gave Boston its 50th win. The Celtics have won at least 50 games in each of the last five years.
“A testament to the alignment (of) of the organization and to the players,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said. “It’s a minor milestone. I wouldn’t say it’s a true definition of success, but I think it’s a definition of consistency.”
Atlanta coach Quin Snyder recorded his 500th career NBA coaching victory when Atlanta beat Sacramento 123-113 Saturday night.
Before joining the Hawks, Snyder was Utah’s coach for eight seasons. He guided the Jazz to the postseason six times.
“It was special,” said Snyder, 59. “When you’ve been in this league for a while you realize that coaches — they keep your record — but it’s really the players and the other people that allow for that to happen. I’ve been really lucky to be able to coach not just really good players, but some quality people. That makes it fun. It’s your extended family.”
Jock Landale, who was a late scratch because of right shoulder impingement when Boston beat Atlanta on Friday, had 19 points and 13 rebounds in the Hawks’ victory over Sacramento. It was Landale’s first double-double since he joined the Hawks on Feb. 5.
“It’s gonna be something that’s there for a little while,” Landale said when asked about playing with shoulder pain. “I’m going to be OK with it. It’s something I’ve just had to come to terms with. We’ve got a great medical staff here that has been real transparent with me. The consensus is in the offseason, when I’ve got some time to rest, it’ll go away.”
As for the team, Landale said: “I think we’ve done a really good job just figuring out our identity and our play style as a first and second unit, and that has definitely translated into the wins column at home. We’ve got some tough ones coming up. Hopefully we can continue that streak against some of the better teams in the NBA.”
–Field Level Media
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