The Atlanta Hawks hope they will be closer to 100 percent healthy Saturday night when they go on the road to face the Boston Celtics.
The Hawks were missing five regulars but still beat the Bulls 110-94 on Wednesday in Chicago. Trae Young sat out that game with a bruised right rib, and Jalen Johnson missed his fifth straight contest due to right shoulder inflammation.
Young, a three-time All-Star, is averaging 23.1 points and a league-leading 11.9 assists per game. He was hurt against Phoenix on Tuesday when he scored a season-high 43 points in Atlanta’s 122-117 win. Young is probable for the Saturday matchup.
Johnson is averaging 19.8 points and a team-high 10.1 rebounds in 32 games his season. He is listed as questionable.
De’Andre Hunter (left foot soreness) is probable to return from a two-game absence, but Larry Nance Jr. (right hand surgery) and rookie Zaccharie Risacher (left adductor irritation) will remain out.
“We didn’t look undermanned,” Atlanta coach Quin Snyder said of the Wednesday win. “We had some guys who just competed.”
Keaton Wallace scored a career-high 27 points in the victory but was returned to the G League’s College Park Skyhawks on Thursday. He also had six rebounds, six assists and four steals in 38 minutes. It was the 17th appearance and second start of his first NBA season.
The Hawks also received a strong performance from Daeqwon Plowden, who was summoned from the G League and tossed in 19 points, including five 3-pointers, in his NBA debut.
“I was prepared to come in and do whatever it takes to get a W,” Plowden said. “My teammates supported me in every shot I took and being in the right place at the right time on the floor.”
As for the Celtics, after three double-digit losses in a five-game stretch, they seemed to get their swagger back by beating the undermanned Orlando Magic 121-94 on Friday. Boston made 17 of its 37 3-point attempts (45.9 percent) in the victory after shooting 28.9 percent from 3-point range in the previous five games.
“Great bounce-back game for all of us,” Boston’s Kristaps Porzingis said. “We have real chill guys who are confident in their abilities and we were just in a tough patch for a little bit, but I would say a very necessary one. If it’s smooth sailing for us all the time, where’s the challenge?
“This challenged us to look at ourselves in the mirror and fix some things, and here we are. I felt like we got our mojo back. This was a step in the right direction, 100 percent.”
Boston coach Joe Mazzulla was impressed by the myriad contributions of Jaylen Brown, who logged 20 points, six rebounds, six assists and three steals.
“I thought he brought a great level of intensity,” Mazzulla said. “He had 20 points on 12 shots. He has the ability to impact the game without shooting. … His ability to just impact the game in different ways and bring a high level of intensity is important for us to, you know, to just continue to get better.”
The Saturday contest will be the third meeting between the Celtics and Hawks this season. Boston prevailed 123-93 in Atlanta on Nov. 4, and the Hawks earned a 117-116 victory in Boston on Nov. 12. Young didn’t play in Atlanta’s one-point victory because of tendinitis in his right Achilles.
–Field Level Media
