NBA Playoffs 2016: Atlanta Hawks vs. Boston Celtics Game 3 Preview

By Miguel Vasquez, Christian Post Contributor Thursday, April 21, 2016

The first round series of the 2016 NBA Playoffs between the Atlanta Hawks and Boston Celtics is now on its third game, with the Hawks leading the series, 2-0.

Game three is slated to take place on Friday, April 22nd, at the TD Garden in Boston.

The first game of the series, which took place last April 16th went down the wire, with the fourth-seeded Hawks winning by a narrow margin, as the game's final score ended at 102-101.

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Point guard Jeff Teague provided the heroics for his team, finishing the night with a double-double, with 23 points and 12 assists in his stats sheet. One of the assists he made was a pick-and-roll set-up for big man Al Horford with the game tied at 88 all during the final three-minute mark of the game.

The second game last April 19th was a more convincing performance for the Hawks, as they ended the night with a final tally of 89-72. This time, it was guard Kyle Korver's shooting barrage that piled in the points for Atlanta.

He finished the game with 17 points, along with seven rebounds and two assists, shooting 6 out of 9 from the field (5 out of 7 from the three-point area), through 32 minutes of playing time. In the said game, the Hawks were also successful in preventing the Celtics from making scoring runs, holding them to a mere 31.8% field goal shooting.

Forward Jae Crowder was a non-factor of the night, and was on a cold streak, as far as his shooting went, only making 1 out of 9 of his field goals.

Point guard Isaiah Thomas was Boston's leading scorer in the game, dropping 16 points, along with three rebounds and two assists. And for his team's performance, Thomas says the necessary adjustments should be immediately made.

"We've got to figure it out. They're playing good team defense," Thomas said in an NBA.com report. "But we, as a coaching staff and as players, we've got to figure out a way to make it as easy as possible. Not just for myself, but for everybody on this team."