ATLANTA — De’Andre Hunter may’ve held the ball and compelled the Celtics to foul.
As a substitute, he let it fly.
Contemplating what the Atlanta Hawks had accomplished, rallying from a 30-point deficit towards NBA-leading Boston, it was solely acceptable the shot hit nothing however internet.
Hunter scored 24 factors, together with a clinching 3-pointer with 9.2 seconds remaining, and the patched-together Hawks pulled off one of the crucial inconceivable wins in franchise historical past with a 120-118 stunner over the Celtics on Monday night time.
The Celtics had received 20 of twenty-two and introduced a nine-game successful streak into State Farm Area — a run that definitely appeared in no jeopardy when Al Horford’s 3-pointer put Boston up 68-38 with slightly below 4½ minutes left within the first half.
However the Hawks — one of many league’s most disappointing groups — clinging to the ultimate play-in spot within the East, launched a comeback out of nowhere with All-Star guard Trae Younger and three different key gamers sidelined by accidents.
It was the primary 30-point comeback win because the 2021-22 LA Clippers beat the Wizards 116-115 after trailing by 35, in keeping with ESPN’s Stats & Data. Earlier than Monday’s recreation, groups have been 5-2,606 over the previous 25 years in video games they trailed by at the least 30 factors.
It was additionally the largest comeback win for Atlanta since at the least the 1997-98 season, when the NBA started conserving detailed play-by-plays.
Dejounte Murray put the Hawks forward to remain at 117-116 on a reverse layup with a minute left. Jaylen Brown missed a desperation 3 with the shot clock expiring, and Hunter sealed issues on the different finish with an enormous help from Clint Capela.
After Murray missed a jumper, Capela grabbed the offensive rebound and noticed Hunter on their own on the high of the important thing. Although the shot clock was off and Hunter may’ve pressured the Celtics to foul, he let go an open look from 26 toes.
Hunter had run via the state of affairs earlier than he bought the ball.
“If he passes it to me, I am taking pictures,” Hunter informed himself. “He bought the rebound, he handed it to me, so I shot it.”
Hawks coach Quin Snyder had no downside with the seemingly ill-advised determination.
“He did not hesitate,” Snyder mentioned. “He shot the ball with confidence, and I had confidence in him.”
It was a stunning loss for the Celtics in a season full of wins, to a workforce that got here into the night time trailing them by 25½ video games within the Japanese Convention standings..
“We let our foot off the fuel within the second half, and so they bought in an important rhythm,” mentioned Jayson Tatum, who led the Celtics with 37 factors. “It is a powerful tablet to swallow.”
Atlanta’s comeback started with a 9-0 run to finish the primary half, which minimize the deficit to 74-56 because the groups headed to the locker room.
The momentum carried over to the third quarter, which started with Atlanta making 19 of the subsequent 23 factors to slice the margin to 78-75.
After the Celtics flirted a number of instances with pulling away once more, the Hawks lastly claimed their first lead of the night time when little-used Wesley Matthews knocked down a 3 to make it 97-96 with 9:42 remaining.
Bogdan Bogdanovic had 22 factors and Murray chipped in with 19, but it surely was a number of gamers who’re usually buried deep on the bench who actually carried the Hawks.
Vit Krejci had 16 factors, together with a 3-pointer that left him shrugging his shoulders towards his teammates as if he could not actually imagine what was taking place. Bruno Fernando scored 13, and Matthews knocked down a pair of essential 3s.
“It felt like every little thing we have been doing was going [right] for us,” Krejci mentioned. “It was a very good second. We have got to discover a technique to really feel that method the entire recreation.”
With loads of followers in inexperienced cheering them on in Atlanta, the Celtics doubled up the house workforce within the first quarter by racing to a 44-22 lead.
Boston made 16 of 24 photographs within the opening interval, together with 5 of seven past the 3-point arc, along with going 7 of seven on the foul line.
Tatum completed the half with 23 factors, 4 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals and 1 blocked shot. However he was stymied a bit within the second half by Krejci, who started to select up the Boston star from one finish of the court docket to the opposite.
Brown added 24 factors for the Celtics.
The Related Press contributed to this story.