Hawks control Boston to take 3-2 series lead

PLAYOFFS SCHEDULE | EXPERT BRACKETS

Against the Atlanta Hawks, Boston won two games in Beantown with crazy, emotional, momentum-driven performances to get back into their series vs. Atlanta after falling behind 0-2. They got a David-slaying-Goliath-and-then-dancing-on-his-head performance from Isaiah Thomas in Game 3 and then a lights-out-roman-candle-bombardment from Marcus Smart in Game 4. The Celtics, who have not been a good offensive team in half-court settings, found hot shooting and reliable offense from unlikely places to even the series.

If Games 3 and 4 were the stuff of fairytale playoff legends, then Game 5 in Atlanta was a hard smack of reality right to the temple. We’re five games in this series, and here’s what we now know about it after the Hawks’ 110-83 demolition of Boston in Game 5.

1. If the Hawks even make a modicum of shots, they’re going to win this series. That’s really all this comes down to. In the Hawks’ two wins, they shot 41 percent from the field and 33 percent from the arc. That’s it. Not great. But enough. In their two losses, they shot 40 percent from the field, but more notably, only 26 percent from deep. Atlanta missed 30 uncontested shots in Game 4 according to NBA.com’s SportVU data. In Game 5, the Hawks shot 46 percent on such shots. The Celtics have shot more contested shots than uncontested in every game in this series, while the Hawks have shot more uncontested than contested in every game in this series. It just comes down to whether the Hawks make them. It’s really that simple.

2. The Celtics have no chance if Isaiah Thomas isn’t brilliant. Thomas scored 42 points in Game 3 and was the biggest reason for that victory. In Game 5, Thomas had seven points, going 3 for 12 from the field. To put that in perspective, Kris Humphries in garbage time had more points than Thomas in this game.

(Thomas also suffered …

continue reading in source www.cbssports.com