NBA Game Notes (April 21, 2023)

Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 21, 2023.

Young, Murray Lead Hawks

Trae Young (32 points) and Dejounte Murray (25) combined for 57 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 130-122 win over the Boston Celtics in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. The Celtics lead the series 2-1 with Game 4 in Boston on Sunday.

Young shot 12-22 from the field and made all six of his free throws, snapping a streak of five straight playoff games in which he had recorded a field goal percentage less than 43%. Young also dished out a game-high nine assists, grabbed six rebounds, and blocked two shots.

Murray made 11 of his 21 attempts from the field, adding six rebounds and five assists. Young and Murray are the first Hawks duo to each record at least 25 points, five rebounds, and five assists in the same playoff game since Lenny Wilkens and Bill Bridges on March 30, 1966.

The Hawks shot 51-90 from the field (56.0%), the team’s highest field goal percentage in a playoff game since May 22, 1988 (57.1%). They made 15 3-pointers for an effective field goal percentage of 64.3%, the highest such figure in a playoff game in franchise history.

The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum scored a team-high 29 points in the loss, adding 10 rebounds and five assists. Tatum joined Paul Pierce (2002) as the only players in franchise history to record at least 25 points and 10 rebounds in each of their first three games of a postseason.

Teammate Marcus Smart scored 24 points, handed out a team-high eight assists, and recorded a game-high three steals (tied). Smart shot 9-19 from the field with five 3-pointers made.