The Boston Celtics improved to 49-24 in 2025-26 with a 109-102 win over the red-hot Atlanta Hawks at TD Garden on Friday. The Hawks had won 14 of their last 15 games coming into this one and looked headed toward another win with the way this game started.
The Celtics, who were without Jaylen Brown and Nikola Vucevic, trailed 25-9 midway through the first quarter. You wondered if they had enough offensively to get back in this one, and they did. The Celtics went on a 19-4 run to end the quarter to slice that Hawks lead down to 29-26 at the end of the first. The teams then proceeded to trade blows in the second and third before the hosts managed to gain control in the fourth.
The Celtics led by as many as 11 points in the final period and then kept the Hawks at arm’s length to record yet another statement win. They had taken down an Oklahoma City Thunder team that had won 15 of its last 16 games on Wednesday, and continue to show why they might be the team to beat in the East.
1. No Jaylen Brown? No Problem Again!
Brown, an MVP candidate, was ruled out for this Hawks clash due to Achilles Tendinitis in his left leg. This was the eighth game that the 29-year-0ld has missed this season, and the Celtics are now 7-1 in them.
Head coach Joe Mazzulla and the rest of the team deserve a whole lot of credit for how good they have looked without their star. Brown is averaging 28.6 points per game this season, and you’re not supposed to be this good when a player of his caliber is out.
Now, a couple of those wins have come against the lowly Washington Wizards and Sacramento Kings, but there are some impressive victories in there as well. The Celtics got the better of the Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets without Brown. This win over the Hawks was unquestionably the best of the lot, though.
It speaks to the Celtics’ depth, and this is not a team you want to go up against in the playoffs.
2. Payton Pritchard Steps Up In Jaylen Brown’s Absence Again
A big reason why the Celtics have been so good without Brown is Payton Pritchard, and he shone against the Hawks as well. Pritchard had 36 points (13-23 FG), seven rebounds, and four assists off the bench on the night.
Pritchard helped dig the Celtics out of the hole they had dug themselves in early on and carried the load offensively for much of the night. He did go cold in the fourth quarter (four points on 1-5 FG), but made up for it by securing two huge offensive rebounds.
It’s incredible how Pritchard has consistently stepped up in Brown’s absence this season. The 28-year-old is now averaging 25.1 points and 7.3 assists per game on 46.3% shooting from three when his All-Star teammate is out.
Pritchard’s scoring average is also brought down by an off night against the Phoenix Suns, where he scored eight points. Take that out, and he’s at 27.6 points per game when Brown isn’t playing, which is ridiculous.
3. Celtics Pummel Hawks On The Glass
The Celtics are one of the best rebounding teams in the NBA, and they dominated on that front against the Hawks. The hosts came into this game averaging 46.5 rebounds per game, which ranks fourth in the NBA, and won the rebounding battle 52-35.
Jayson Tatum was a bit inefficient, scoring 26 points on 8-24 shooting from the field, but secured a game-high 12 rebounds. Neemias Queta hauled in 11 rebounds as well in just 28 minutes. Interestingly, Tatum and Queta didn’t have a single offensive rebound between them, but the hosts still got plenty of those.
The Celtics hauled in 13 offensive rebounds, which they converted to 18 second-chance points. The fact that Pritchard, of all people, had three offensive rebounds had to sting if you’re the Hawks. Baylor Scheierman and Derrick White also got three and two offensive rebounds, respectively.
As for the Hawks, they had 10 offensive rebounds of their own, but six of those came in the fourth quarter. Quite a few of them came on the same possessions as well, which explains why they only had nine second-chance points.
4. A No-Show From The Hawks Bench
The Hawks have a solid bench unit, but the reserves were a no-show on this night against the Celtics. Zaccharie Risacher, Jonathan Kuminga, Corey Kispert, Gabe Vincent, and Mouhamed Gueye combined for 18 points on 5-18 shooting from the field. Pritchard managed to outscore the five of them by himself.
This was just the fourth time this season that the Hawks had gotten less than 20 points from their bench. It was just on Monday that the reserves had combined for 74 points in the 146-107 win over the Memphis Grizzlies, so this was quite the drop-off.
Kuminga was the biggest culprit, scoring just three points on 0-5 shooting from the field. He had 16 points against the Grizzlies and continues to struggle with consistency.
