BOSTON – Well it looks like all the Boston Celtics needed was a change of scenery and a change to their lineup to turn around their first half struggles against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Celtics had by far their best first half of the series which was instrumental in them taking control from the very outset and take a 57-45 lead into the half.
Prior to the game, Celtics head coach Brad Stevens announced that Evan Turner that be starting in place of Marcus Smart.
No surprise there.
But then he added that Jonas Jerebko would be replacing Jared Sullinger in the starting lineup which would be his first time with the first unit as Celtic.
And both proved to be changes for the better, with Turner’s ability to penetrate and either set up shots for teammates or himself, while Jerebko gave the Celtics better spacing because he was a greater threat to score from the perimeter than Sullinger.
But he soon proved himself to be more than just a decoy out there.
Boston Celtics
Jerebko was aggressive with the ball, scoring from the perimeter as well as off penetration.
At the half he had seven points and eight rebounds along with three assists.
Maybe the one player who benefited most by the new lineup was Isaiah Thomas who had 11 points in the first quarter alone. That was more than he had scored in the first quarter of Games 1 and 2 combined. At the half he led all scorers with 19 points on 6-for-12 shooting from the field.
Boston led by as many as 20 points in the first half before the Hawks gradually climbed their way back into the game. A scoop shot by Jeff Teague cut Boston’s lead to 49-37 which was part of an 8-0 Atlanta run.
Atlanta made it a 51-41 game following a running jumper by Kyle Korver.
But the Celtics came back with a driving lay-up by Isaiah Thomas who was fouled on the play with 2:08 to play in the half.
The Hawks eventually cut Boston’s lead to single digits on a driving lay-up by Teague that made it 54-45 with about a minute to play in the half.
But the Celtics scored the final three points of the quarter which included a lob dunk from Thomas to Amir Johnson that pushed Boston’s lead at the half to 12 points.