Atlanta Hawks (41-41, seventh in the Eastern Conference) vs. Boston Celtics (57-25, second in the Eastern Conference)
Boston; Saturday, 3:30 p.m. EDT
FANDUEL SPORTSBOOK NBA LINE: Celtics -9; over/under is 230.5
EASTERN CONFERENCE FIRST ROUND: Celtics host first series matchup
BOTTOM LINE: The Boston Celtics host the Atlanta Hawks to start the Eastern Conference first round. Boston went 3-0 against Atlanta during the regular season. The Celtics won the last regular season meeting 120-114 on April 9 led by 30 points from Payton Pritchard, while Bruno Fernando scored 19 points for the Hawks.
The Celtics have gone 34-18 against Eastern Conference teams. Boston is sixth in the Eastern Conference with 14.0 fast break points per game led by Jaylen Brown averaging 4.7.
The Hawks are 26-26 in conference play. Atlanta is eighth in the Eastern Conference with 25.0 assists per game led by Trae Young averaging 10.2.
TOP PERFORMERS: Jayson Tatum is scoring 30.1 points per game with 8.8 rebounds and 4.6 assists for the Celtics. Brown is averaging 18.0 points and 4.6 rebounds while shooting 49.7% over the last 10 games for Boston.
Young is scoring 26.2 points per game and averaging 3.0 rebounds for the Hawks. Bogdan Bogdanovic is averaging 2.0 made 3-pointers over the last 10 games for Atlanta.
LAST 10 GAMES: Celtics: 8-2, averaging 120.1 points, 47.1 rebounds, 29.2 assists, 6.3 steals and 5.8 blocks per game while shooting 49.2% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 105.2 points per game.
Hawks: 5-5, averaging 124.7 points, 46.5 rebounds, 27.9 assists, 7.8 steals and 5.2 blocks per game while shooting 49.7% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 122.7 points.
INJURIES: Celtics: Danilo Gallinari: out (knee), Marcus Smart: day to day (neck), Al Horford: day to day (back), Robert Williams III: day to day (knee), Malcolm Brogdon: day to day (back), Jaylen Brown: day to day (finger), Jayson Tatum: day to day (hip).
Hawks: None listed.
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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.
The Associated Press
