RECAP: Shorthanded Hawks Get Massive Win over Celtics, 117-116

It wasn't always pretty, but Atlanta dug deep and found a way to win an incredible thriller of a game for their best victory of the season.

Nov 4, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Dyson Daniels (5) shoots past Boston Celtics guard Derrick White (9) in the third quarter at State Farm Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Coming into this matchup, the Hawks really needed a win in order to get back on track after two disappointing losses against the Pistons and Bulls respectively. Both games were close affairs that Atlanta could have pulled out with better execution. Tonight, they had a chance to showcase better execution against one of the tougher matchups across the NBA in the Boston Celtics.

If Onyeka Okongwu's game-winner is any evidence, they did exactly that. It was an admirable performance from an incredibly shorthanded roster and easily serves as their best win of the year. There really is not much more that fans could have expected from the team. It was also the Hawks' first game of the NBA Cup Tournament, so this win sets them up well to get out of the group stage.

Credit for this game being as close as it was has to start with Dyson Daniels. He had a career-high in points with 30 on 14/22 shooting from the field. Although he only hit one three, it was easily the most impressive scoring game of his young career from inside the arc. He was also aided by a near triple-double effort from Jalen Johnson. Johnson continued his strong run of form with a 16 point, 11 rebound, 10 assist triple-double game that showed why he is an early candidate for Most Improved Player.

Atlanta's centers also showed out in this one. Clint Capela had 18 points and nine rebounds while Onyeka Okongwu had 15 points (including the game-clinching shot with seven seconds on the clock) and five rebounds off the bench. The rotation got a massive boost with a stellar 19-point performance from Larry Nance Jr, who hit five of his six attempts from deep.

For Boston, Derrick White and Jaylen Brown absolutely torched Atlanta's defense. White went for 31 points, 6 rebounds and five assists on 10-15 shooting from the field and 7/12 from deep. Jaylen Brown led all scorers with 37 points on 14-21 shooting. Jayson Tatum added 20 points, eight rebounds and six assists of his own, but Boston's bench let them down in a massive way. They combined for a grand total of 12 points in an ice-cold performance.

Let's recap tonight's win.

With the absence of Young, the Hawks went with a lineup of Keaton Wallace at point guard, Dyson Daniels at shooting guard, Zaccharie Risacher at small forward, Jalen Johnson at power forward and Clint Capela at center.

Although the Celtics originally listed Al Horford and Jayson Tatum as questionable for this game, both ended up playing and the Celtics were able to field their usual starting lineup of Jrue Holiday at point guard, Derrick White at shooting guard, Jaylen Brown at small forward, Jayson Tatum at power forward and Al Horford at center.

Despite being down their best player in Young, Atlanta actually kept pace with the Celtics throughout the first quarter. Johnson got things going for Atlanta in what can only be described as a wild sequence. A Dyson Daniels steal turned into multiple wild passes that fortunately ended with Wallace making the pass to the 6'8 forward for the three-pointer.

Just like we drew it up pic.twitter.com/dZE1Uv1MuJ

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 13, 2024

From there, the Hawks continued to keep pace with Boston. They never let the lead stretch past three points and kept the ball moving on offense. Jayson Tatum also got off to a slow start, hitting his first jumper with 1:51 left in the first quarter. However, the Hawks defense was less successful against Brown, who scored 13 in the quarter.

From a rotation standpoint, the Hawks brought Larry Nance and Garrison Mathews off the bench as the first substitutions. Both made their presence felt in the waning minutes of the quarter - Nance had a big-time three-pointer late in the quarter to give the Hawks a 23-21 lead with 2.39 minutes left while Mathews hit two free throws to give the Hawks a 29-28 lead. Unfortunately, Sam Hauser canned a deep three-pointer to make it a 31-29 game for the Celtics heading into the second quarter.

The second quarter was much more uneven for Atlanta. After only being down two points at the conclusion of the first quarter, they ended the half down 11 after a 13-5 run from Boston. Payton Pritchard opened the second quarter up with a three-pointer to extend Boston's lead before Onyeka Okongwu stormed back with a dunk off the feed from Johnson. Okongwu also stepped out and hit a massive three-pointer later the second quarter with 8.48 left in the half. The chemistry between Johnson and Okongwu was noticeable last season and it continued to show in this one. Both of Atlanta's centers had strong performances in the first half - Capela almost recorded a double-double with 10 points and 8 rebounds at halftime. However, Boston's 13-5 run gave them the mometum they needed to punctuate the half. There were a few bright spots - Nance hit his second three of the night with 4:43 left in the half. However, Horford answered with a three of his own. The Hawks got some momentum going with a Johnson three-pointer and a nice six-point run by Capela to end the half, but Boston's timely shot-making kept them at bay.

At the half, Atlanta's offense needed to find some momentum. They were never going to get back into this game by shooting only 44.9% from the field and 26.3% from three as a team. Fortunately, they found the spark necessary to battle back - courtesy of an incredible effort from Dyson Daniels and Jalen Johnson.

Although the lead ballooned to as much as 13 points in the third quarter, the Hawks just didn't go away. Capela got things going with a massive dunk off a steal to cut the deficit to nine points.

CC starts it with a steal and finishes with a dunk pic.twitter.com/1K5U2XVFa4

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) November 13, 2024

Still, Boston regained momentum on an 8-2 run. All of Tatum, White and Brown scored as the Hawks began to slip away with a 15-point deficit at 5:49 in the quarter. From there, Dyson Daniels and Larry Nance practically willed the Hawks back into the game. Over the last four minutes of the quarter, they accounted for every point that the Hawks scored. The Hawks ended the third quarter down 84-91, but it was clear that they weren't going to go quietly.

It all culminated in Atlanta's best fourth quarter of the season. First, Okongwu came through with six incredibly timely points whenever the Hawks needed him. He was active on the boards, coming up with five rebounds in the quarter. Daniels filled in the rest, making six of his shots in the frame with an especially impressive three-pointer to tie the game at 104 apiece with 4:51 left to go. From there, he got another layup to bring the Hawks within 1 after Boston stole the lead back and got fouled with 2:54 left. The historically poor free throw shooter nailed both of his attempts and set up Jalen Johnson to answer a Derrick White three with a jumper of his own to keep the Hawks within one, 110-111. A heartbreaking three from Brown looked to sink any hopes of a Hawks win before Nance hit one of his own. From there, first-time starter Keaton Wallace made his presence felt with his only shot of the quarter - a floater to give the Hawks a chance at 115-116 with 42 seconds on the clock. Onyeka Okongwu did the rest. He caught a rare Daniels miss, went up strong for the tip shot and got it to give the Hawks a 117-116 lead that shocked TD Garden into silence.

It's hard to overstate how big this win was for Atlanta. The Celtics were essentially at full strength and the Hawks were missing two big rotation pieces in Bogdanovic and Hunter, as well as their best player in Young. It is easily the best win of the season and hopefully grounds for a streak to develop as they look to make it out of the NBA Cup group stage.