Boston Celtics 128 vs 120 Atlanta Hawks summary: stats and highlights | NBA Playoffs Game 6

The Boston Celtics are off to the second round of the playoffs after closing out the Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 from State Farm Arena. Jaylen Brown led the Celtics with 32 points in the 128-120 victory on Thursday night.

Boston bounces back

Boston came into Atlanta on the heels of a devastating loss in the final second of Game 5, and instead of enjoying a few days off before starting the next round of the playoffs they had to travel to Atlanta and beat the Hawks in a tough environment.

It was Marcus Smart who got the C’s off to a quick start as Boston built up a 12-2 lead in the first few minutes of the game, and Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown took it from there.

Trae Young came out firing from all angles in front of his home fans scoring 18 points in the first quarter, but it wasn’t enough to give the Hawks the lead after the first quarter.

Hawks kept it tight until the end

Atlanta battled back from their slow start as game went back and forth for the first three quarters. The largest lead before the last few minutes of the game came just before the halftime break when the Hawks led by seven.

Both teams had their share of a narrow lead in the final 24 minutes despite Trae Young cooling down in the second half. He had 12 points in the final two quarters but Dejounte Murray responded with 14 second half points after going scoreless in the first half.

Brown and Tatum would carry the Celtics, but it would be a couple of huge threes from former Atlanta hero Al Horford that would help Boston build a lead late in the fourth quarter. 

Celtics vs. Sixers in Round 2

Atlanta went cold from the field in the final minutes of the game in a stark contrast to what happened in Boston on Tuesday night. The Celtics held them without a point for nearly five minutes and by the time Murray hit a three with under two to go the fourth the C’s went on an 11-0 run to close the game out.

Tatum finished the game with 30 points and Brown led all scorers with 32 in the close out win from State Farm Arena. The Celtics are on to the next round of the playoffs where they will meet the Philadelphia 76ers who are coming off a sweep of the Brooklyn Nets.

The game was still in the balance when Jayson Tatum had this massive tip slam to stretch the lead to 8 with under 2:00 to go. 

What a luxury it is for Boston to have two guys on the court who can make these plays when the game is on the line. This Brown three tied the game up and Tatum would end it in spectacular fashion. 

For the third and most of the fourth quarter were played on a knifes edge. There wasn't a lead bigger than 4 until the final three minutes of the, and Brown was a big reason why the Hawks could never pull to far ahead. 

Tatum may have had a big game, but Jaylen Brown was the man for Boston in Game 6. He had 18 in the first half and finished the game with 32. 

Jayson Tatum may have struggled a bit in Game 5, but made amends in Atlanta going for 30 points in the close out win. 

The Celtics got off to a quick start thanks to Marcus Smart who would help stretch the early lead to double digits in the first few minutes. 

IT'S ALL OVER!!! THE BOSTON CELTICS ARE HEADING TO THE SECOND ROUND OF THE PLAYOFFS AFTER GOING INTO ATLANTA AND CLOSING OUT THE HAWKS!

Smart going to the line and he hits both FTs. 

Atlanta had the ball in the half court on an inbounds but tried to the inbound from the corner three times and had to throw it off the defender to keep from an inbound violation. On the fourth they turn it over with 18.1 to go in the game. 

Bogdanovic got fouled on a desperation three by Horford and he hits one of three but ATL come up with the offensive rebound with 19 to go. 

Smart was left all alone in the lane after a ball fake and he laid it up and in. 

Hunter drills the three out of the timeout with 1:25 to go!

Smart was left open for three and Brown hit him to put the Celtics up 8 with 1:31 to go in the game!

Murray sticks a three ball to put an end to the 11-0 run from the C's

TATUM ON THE TIP SLAM OFF THE HORFORD MISSED THREE AND WHAT A PLAY TO POTENTIALLY WIN THE SERIES FROM THE BOSTON STAR!!!

Tatum drills the three ball on the step back and the C's are on a 9-0 run!

2:30 to go in the game. 

Horford drills the three in the corner after the kick out from Smart!

We are headed to a timeout with 4:32 to go in Game 6 from Atlanta!

Boston is challenging an out of bounds play that went to the Hawks. 

Brown with the pull up and he drills it over Murray!

5:00 to go in the 4th quarter!

Young flips it up to Capela who gets the alley oop tip in to go. 

Atlanta takes a timeout up by a point with 6:48 to go in the fourth quarter. 

Collins on the jump hook from outside the lane, and he's got 22 tonight. 

Brown skips past Collins in transition, and gets the lay up to go. 

Young kicks out to Collins and he drains the catch and shoot three ball!

Horford with the tip in off the Brown miss. 

Okongwu at the line after Williams fouled him on the alley oop attempt, but he misses both FTs. 

Brown answers back with a runner of his own from the baseline and of the glass!

Okongwu with the block on Brown and that sparks a fast break which leads to Murray's transition runner off the glass.. 

Young goes to the line after the foul on Brown and he hits both FTs. 

Brogdon with the pull up from the mid range and he has four quick points to start the quarter. 

Collins with the pick and roll and Young hit him for the lay up. 

Brogdon gets the floater to fall in traffic and the C's lead one again. 

Brown lobs it up to Williams and he gets the tip in to go to start the fourth quarter. 

WE ARE HEADING TO THE FOURTH QUARTER WITH THE HAWKS UP TWO, LOOKING TO STAY ALIVE IN THE FINAL 12 MINUTES!

Okongwu follows up Young's miss, gets the board the bucket and the foul! FT it no good. 

Bogdanovic on the slash to the rack and his lay up falls after the feed from Okoungwu. 

Hunter hits a lay up off the feed from Murray who looks a lot more comfortable in this second half. 

Timeout Celtics with 1:13 to go in the third. 

Brogdon wiggles into the lane and he gets the floater to fall. 

Williams drills a three ball and he's having some good minutes tonight after not playing much in this series. 

Bogdanovic with the scoop lay up after the drive from the left side. It was more of a flick that a scoop, but he'll take it. 

Tatum on the floater in traffic and the C's lead with 2 to go in the third. 

Smart at the line after the foul on Bey and he hits one of two. 

Murray gets the roll out of the timeout on his jumper from the lane. 

Brown slicing through defenders in transition and he gets the lefty lay up to go off the crystal!

Timeout Hawks with 4:01 to go in the third quarter. 

Capela gets the offensive board off the missed lay up from Bey and he hits the jump hook. 

Tatum with back to back buckets, this time from the corner for three!

Hunter drills the catch and release three ball!

Tatum drills the pull up from the elbow and he's got 20. 

Hunter at the line out of the timeout and he hits both FTs. 

Brogdon gets the floater to drop in the lane and we are all tied up with 6:05 and the Hawks will take a timeout. 

Horford hits his first three ball of the night from the corner after the kick out from Brogdon. 

Murray races to the rack after the Tatum FT and he gets the lay up and one!!! FT is good to complete the three point play. 

Tatum at the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Hunter. 

Murray at the line and he hits both FTs after the foul on Brown. 

Young pulls up from the top of the key and hits the mid range jumper and Horford got whistled for a flagrant 1 after Young landed on his foot. FT is good. 

Brown drills a three ball and he's over 20 tonight after the long range effort!

Hunter bangs home a three ball in the corner and ATL go back ahead.

Murray is on the board for the first time tonight with a mid range jumper. 

Smart fouled on the three by Young and he hits all three FTs from the stripe. 

Brown running the break and finishes off the euro step using the glass. 

Hunter gets the three ball to drop for the first points of the third quarter!

WE ARE BACK FROM ATLANTA FOR THE SECOND HALF OF ACTION!

Young ended the half with 25 points on 8/15 shooting. Collins has 9 and Bey and Johnson both have 7 off the bench but ATL needs Murray to appear in the second half. 

Trae Young went wild in the first quarter, scoring 18 points in the opening 12 minutes to erase a double digit lead early on. 

Tatum has 16 at the halftime break and he knows if the C's are going to close out the series tonight, he'll need more of the same in the second half. 

The Celtics jumped out to a double digit lead early on thanks to some great play from Marcus Smart after a couple of sub par games. 

We are headed to halftime with this game dead even. Both teams have had their fair share of the lead 

Brown has 18 and Tatum has 16, but Trae Young is keeping the Hawks in this game with 25 points in the first half!

Collins drills the three ball in the corner off the kick out from Young! He's got 9 on the night!

Tatum dances on the defenders and lays it in off the glass. 

Young breaks the run up with a floater in the lane off the glass.. Big bucket from Trae right there. 

Horford with another offensive board that leads to another Brown three ball! 13-2 run for Boston with under a minute to go in the half!

Brown gives the Celtics the lead with a three ball from the wing with 2:12 to go in the half. 

Tatum in the lane and gets the lay up to go. 

Capela on the alley oop after Young lobs it up to him on the pick and roll!

Brown with back to back buckets, this one from downtown after the Horford offensive board and kick out!

Brown going to the rack and he gets the lay up to go. 

Young on the step back and he is scorching hot from downtown!

Collins stings the three out of the timeout off the dish from Young!

Young gave it away and Horford found Tatum on the slam after picking up the loose ball. 

Timeout ATL with 5:05 to go in the first half. 

Bey gets into the paint and hits the fader in the lane over Brogdon. 

Tatum drills the three ball off the kick out from Smart!

Young drills the midrange jumper from the wing and he has 20 on the night. 

Smart comes out of the timeout with a tip in off his own miss. 

Jonhnson running the break and he got the feed from Murray for the lay up in transition. 

Celtics call a timeout with 7:07 to go from State Farm Arena. 

Bogdanovic on the crossover and the take to the rack! He finishes with the lay in off the glass from the left side. 

Okongwu gets the jump hook to go and we are back to a tie ball game. 

Brogdon at the line after the foul on Murray and he hits both FTs. 

Okongwu had his dunk blocked but followed it up with a put back down low. 

Brown going back to work in the paint and he get the short range jumper to go. 

Bogdanovic ties the game up after Murray came up with a back court steal and Bogey drills the three ball!

White on the lay up after taking Murray to the rack

Jackson walks into a three ball and he cut the lead to one!

Brogdon at the line after the foul on Okongwu and he hits both FTs. 

Bogdanovic hits the floater down the lane off the dish from Murray. 

White drops a three ball from the corner to start the second quarter!!!

The Celtics jumped out to a 10 point lead in the first few minutes, but Trae Young brought the Hawks back to take the lead for a moment. 

Young has 18 to lead the Hawks and Smart has 9 to pace the Celtics. 

White gets the offensive board off the Brogdon missed three and that's how the first quarter will end!

Young on the step back three from the top of the key and he's got 18 in the first quarter!!!

Brogdon on the jam streaking down the lane with a minute to go on in the first!

Young at the line after the foul on Hauser and he hits both FTs. 

Young drills the three ball from the top of the key!

Tatum at the line after the foul on Okongwu and he hits both FTs. 

Wiliams on the alley oop after the timeout and that stops the Hawks run. 

Bey with five quick points after dropping a three ball i the corner off the kick out from Hunter! 

Timeout Celtics with 3:02 to go in the opening quarter. 

Bey at the line after the foul on Williams and he hits both FTs. 

Hauser drops a three ball and the Celtics are on point from downtown to start this game!

Hunter with the follow up off the miss by Bey. 

Brogdon pulls up from downtown and the Sixth Man of the Year is on the board off the bench. 

Tatum calls for calm with a three ball to take the lead right back. 

Young jacks a three from the top of the key and Atlanta leads for the first timeout tonight!

Collins driving strong to the rack and he gets the double clutch lay up to go after spinning to the cup and he gets the foul! FT is good!

Brown on the pull up and he's got a couple of FGs to start the night. 

Young on the floater in the lane and he gets the foul after Horford got a piece of him! FT is good and he's starting to get going early on. 

Tatum on the slam and he introduces himself into this Game 5 with a bang!

Young at the line and he hits both after the foul on Tatum. 

Young finds Capella off the alley oop after the pick and roll. 

Hunter hit the floater in the lane and the Hawks need to see more of their role players step up tonight. 

Smart on the transition lay up after the quick out let from White. 

Capella on the offensive boards and follows up the Young missed three. ATL will take any points they can get at the moment. 

Smart drops a corner three after the kick out from Tatum and the Hawks need a quick timeout after seeing the deficit climb to double digits. 

Smart finds Horford on the dash to the rack and the vet finishes with a slam!

There Ice Trae hitting a baseline jumper putting the Hawks on the board after 2 minutes. 

Smart hits two FTs after the foul on Capella and Boston start the game on a 7-0 run. 

Smart following the off the miss from White. 

Brown gets us started with a corner three, and does he have some close out game heroics in store?

WE ARE UNDERWAY FROM ATLANTA!!! CAN THE HAWKS STAY ALIVE FOR WILL BOSTON CLOSE OUT THE SERIES ON THE ROAD?

Nothing changes for Joe Mazulla and the Boston Celtics' starting five. Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown will lead the charge while Derrick White and Al Horford look to chip in as the role players and Marcus Smart will set the tone on the defensive end. 

Dejuonte Murray is back in the starting five after serving a one game suspension for bumping into a ref in Game 4. He will serve as Trae Young's right hand man in tonight's must win game from State Farm. 

Upset alert!

Top seeds beware! The 2023 NBA Playoffs have been full of surprises so far and we could see even more surprises by the end of the first round. The 8 seed Miami Heat just took down the 1 seed Milwaukee Bucks in the Eastern Conference Playoffs, and in the West, the 7 seeded Lakers are up 3-2 on the 2 seeded Grizzlies while the Warriors lead the Kings 3-2 with both teams heading back to home, looking to close the series under their own roofs. Boston is still in the drivers seat coming into tonight, but a loss tonight could turn this series on it’s head. 

3-1 series history

In the entire history of the NBA, there have been just 13 teams to comeback from a 3-1 deficit. Ninety five percent of teams that jump out to such a lead close the series out in one of the final three games. The last time a team came back from 3-1 down was back in the 2020 playoffs when the Denver Nuggets did it in back to back series, first against Utah in the first round and then against the Clippers in the Western Conference Semis. Atlanta won maybe the toughest game, which was Game 5 on the road. Now they return home looking to keep the momentum going and force a Game 7 which will be anyone’s game in Boston.  

Ice Trae in the building 

What more can you say about Trae Young? He shows up when his team needs him most, and even though everyone in the building knows the ball is going to Ice Trae at the end of the game, you can’t stop him. His three over Jaylen Brown was just many of memorable playoff moments in Young’s blossoming career. He will need a few more of those tonight if the Hawks are going to survive the night and force a Game 7. 

Tatum to take over?

The Celtics looked defeated mentally and physically in the post game press conferences after the Hawks stole the win in Boston in the final 10 minutes of the game. Tonight, Jayson Tatum and company are going to have to shake off that devastating loss and look to rebound tonight in Atlanta. Tatum had just 19 points on 8/21 shooting and hit just one of his 10 threes in the potential close out game. Don’t expect him to be that cold from the field tonight as the Celtics look to end the series on the road tonight. 

Game 5 recap

The Celtics looked like they had it in the bag back in TD Garden on Tuesday night. After a tight first half, Jaylen Brown led his team to a double digit advantage going into the third quarter, and the Celtics kept that lead and even extended it to 13 with under 9 minutes to go as Brown went on to score 36 in Game 5. Trae Young and the Hawks weren’t ready to bow out just yet. With Dejounte Murray suspended after making contact with an official in Game 4, the Hawks top scorer put on a show scoring 16 points and hitting the game winner with the series and the season on the line. Young’s three sent the series back to Atlanta at 3-2 with a chance to force a game seven if they can get a win here at State Farm Stadium.

We are live from State Farm Arena

Hello everyone and welcome to the Peach State where the Hawks are hanging around after going down 3-1 to the second seeded Boston Celtics. Boston let a golden opportunity to close the series out slip through their hands on Tuesday night giving up a big fourth quarter comeback. Instead of enjoying a few extra days off before the next round of the playoffs, they travel south needing a road win to advance and avoid a Game 7 back in Boston. The Hawks are riding a wave of emotion that will certainly carry over into tonight in front of their home fans, but will it be enough to survive for one more game?

Celtics vs. Hawks live

The Hawks are still alive and they return to Atlanta tonight after a heart stopping comeback win in Game 5 from Boston, but they will need to beat the Celtics again tonight if they want to keep their season alive. AS English will be with you all night providing live coverage, stats, highlights and analysis of tonight’s elimination game from State Farm Arena.