Hawks lose final Summer League game 101-80 to Celtics

Final from Vegas.

The Summer League Atlanta Hawks went up against the Boston Celtics in their final matchup in Las Vegas, as they started off 4-0. Despite the undefeated record, the point differential was not good enough for them to make it into the final four.

That may have led the coaching staff to play regular starters, and the Hawks ran a starting lineup of Dwight Murray Jr., Adam Flagler, Javan Johnson, Jack White, and Nelly Junior Joseph.

The Hawks started off in a 7-0 deficit, but were able to get back in the game with a few 3-pointers from Murray and Stephens. The Hawks ended up taking a 10-8 lead, but the Celtics put their foot on the gas once again, and took back the lead.

Deivon Smith exploded to the rim for this dunk to cut down the Hawks’ deficit in the quarter.

Both teams got some 3-pointers to go down during the period, but it was the Celtics that went into the second quarter with a 27-20 lead.

The Celtics went on a 10-2 run to start the quarter, as the Hawks were not able to find easy shots and were also turning the ball over.

The Hawks fought back in the quarter, and Kobe Johnson started it off with a pull-up jumper.

The Celtics increased their lead once again, but the Hawks answered toward the end of first half, with McVeigh knocking down a 3-pointer to cut their deficit down to nine points, and they went into halftime down 48-39.

The Hawks got their deficit down to as much as five points in the third quarter. They turned defense into offense quickly, and Joseph got out on the break for a dunk.

Johnson showed off his perimeter skills in the first half, and in the second half, he showed his ability to make plays in the paint.

The Hawks got into another offensive slump, and the Celtics ran up their lead, this time by as much as 21 points. Going into the fourth quarter, the Hawks trailed 71-50.

White tried to spark a Hawks’ comeback early in the fourth, with this and-one.

Smith got another dunk during the game.

It was going to take more than that for the Hawks to get back into the game, but the Celtics were still getting whatever they wanted on offense to keep their lead. The Hawks did find an offensive rhythm down the stretch of the game, but the Celtics had an answer for everything they threw at them.

In the end, the Hawks’ undefeated streak came to an end.

Johnson finished with 14 points and six rebounds, Joseph finished with 11 points and nine rebounds, and Flagler finished with 10 points.