Celtics-Hawks takeaways: C's start road trip with hard-fought victory

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The Boston Celtics' six-game road trip is off to a strong start.

Their crucial stretch began Saturday night in Atlanta where they took down the Hawks, 134-125. They looked refreshed after their two-day break as they shot 54.7 percent from the floor, including 20-for-42 (47.6 percent) from 3-point range. Atlanta cut a 16-point deficit to five in the fourth quarter, but Boston pulled away late to escape State Farm Arena with a victory.

Jayson Tatum notched a double-double with 34 points and 15 rebounds. Atlanta natives Jaylen Brown and Malcolm Brogdon tallied 24 and 18 points, respectively. Derrick White chipped in 18 points of his own to go with a team-high seven assists.

Trae Young did his part with a game-high 35 points and 13 assists. Seven Hawks players scored in double figures in the losing effort.

The Celtics improve to 47-21 on the season and will continue their road trip Monday night in Houston. First, here are our takeaways from Saturday's win over the Hawks.

Blake Griffin steps up as second big

With Robert Williams (out), Blake Griffin again was the Celtics' second big in the rotation. C's coach Joe Mazzulla also went with Griffin over Grant Williams, Mike Muscala, and Luke Kornet in Wednesday's win over Portland.

Griffin excelled in the role on Saturday. The 33-year-old veteran brought energy off the bench and did a little bit of everything in his 15 minutes.

Griffin finished with eight points (4-6 FG), five rebounds (three offensive), an assist, a steal, and one block.

Meanwhile, Williams, Muscala, and Kornet did not play as Mazzulla stayed small and went with an eight-man rotation. The trio didn't see the court until garbage time in the fourth quarter on Wednesday. It'll be interesting to see how the rotation is managed over this final stretch, especially once Rob Williams returns.

Boston three party

The Celtics have the tendency to live and die by the 3. This time, it was the former.

They set the tone for the high-scoring affair with 12 made 3-pointers in the first half. They finished 20-for-42 from beyond the arc, and almost every C's player who got minutes got in on the action.

Tatum hit five of his 14 shots from deep. Al Horford stayed hot and went 3-for-5 while Marcus Smart shot 3-for-6 on 3s. White and Brogdon added two 3s apiece.

Then there was Sam Hauser, who loves playing in Atlanta. The Celtics' sharpshooter had 15 points on 5-for-6 shooting from beyond the arc against the Hawks back in November. He gave an encore performance on Saturday with 12 points on 4-of-5 from 3.

The Hawks, on the other hand, shot just 29.4 percent (10-for-34) from long range. That was the difference during a game in which defense was lacking on both sides.

Too many second chances

The Celtics have had a knack for making games a little too interesting down the stretch as of late. That was the case again Saturday night, and this time it was because of their struggles on the offensive glass.

Atlanta had a 13-5 advantage on the offensive boards and turned that into 20 second-chance points. Boston had only five second-chance points in a game it clearly missed Robert Williams.

Hawks forward Onyeka Okongwu accounted for five of the Hawks' 13 offensive rebounds. Griffin had three of the Celtics' five. This is something the Celtics will need to fix ahead of Monday's game vs. the Rockets.

Marcus Smart and Trae Young go at it

Smart could soon face discipline after what went down at the end of Saturday's game.

With 1:26 remaining in regulation, the Celtics guard was ejected after taking exception to Young inadvertently hitting him in the groin. Smart approached Young after the Hawks star banked in a shot and the two exchanged words. They both fell to the floor in the scuffle as teammates and referees tried to separate them.

Watch the sequence below:

Whether it's a fine or a suspension, Smart will probably hear from the league for that one.

Young received a technical foul for the dust-up, but Smart was sent to the locker room early. He finished with 11 points and six assists.

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