NBA Game Notes (April 27, 2023)
NBA Game Notes (April 27, 2023)
Here are the NBA game notes for games that were played on April 27, 2023.
Celtics Close Out Hawks
The Boston Celtics closed out the Atlanta Hawks with a 128-120 win in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference First Round series. The No. 2 seed Celtics move on to the conference semifinals, where they will face the No. 3 seed Philadelphia 76ers.
The Celtics’ Jayson Tatum scored 30 points on 11-20 shooting from the field, adding 14 rebounds, seven assists, and two blocks. Tatum did not commit a turnover, becoming the first Celtic to record at least 30 points and 10 rebounds in a playoff game without an error since Kevin McHale on April 28, 1990.
Tatum now was 17 career 30-point playoff games, breaking a tie with Paul Pierce for the fourth-most such games in franchise history:
43 — Larry Bird
30 — John Havlicek
21 — Sam Jones
17 — Jayson Tatum
16 — Paul Pierce
It’s the 10th time Tatum has recorded at least 25 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists in a playoff game. He’s the fourth Celtic to reach that mark, joining Larry Bird (26), John Havlicek (15), and Bill Russell (10).
Teammate Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 32 points and grabbed five rebounds. Brown shot 13-25 from the floor, including 6-8 from 3-point range. It’s the second time Tatum and Brown each scored at least 30 points in the same game this series. They are the first duo in franchise history to record multiple such games in a playoff series.
Combining the regular season and postseason, the Celtics are now 23-1 (.958) when Tatum and Brown each score at least 30 points in the same game. That’s the highest winning percentage in NBA history by a duo with at least 20 such games.
Celtics center Al Horford filled the box score, tallying 10 points, 12 rebounds, four assists, three blocks, and two steals. Horford made four of his eight shots from the field, including a huge 3-pointer with 3:35 remaining in the fourth quarter that gave the Celtics a lead they would never relinquish.
The Hawks’ Trae Young scored a team-high 30 points and distributed 10 assists in the loss. He became just the third player in NBA history to record three straight 30-point, 10-assist games in the playoffs, joining Michael Jordan (1989) and Russell Westbrook (2017). No one has produced four such games in a row.
Young struggled through a 9-28 performance from the field — including 4-12 from 3-point rage — but did hit all eight of his free throws. Young made just one of his 13 attempts from the floor in the second half, missing all seven of his fourth-quarter shots.
Backcourt partner Dejounte Murray retuned after serving a one-game suspension. Murray handed out a game-high 11 assists, but was held to 14 points on 5-13 shooting from the field. Murray did make all three of his free throws, and was a perfect 9-9 from the foul line for the series.