National Basketball Association
Preview
Atlanta at Boston
When: 7:00 PM ET, Saturday, January 18, 2025
Where: TD Garden, Boston, Massachusetts

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

Stats and Records
Team Comparison
  W/L Strk Home Away Day Night Div Conf
Atlanta 21-19 W2 11-7 10-11 2-2 19-17 4-2 14-7
Boston 29-12 W1 15-7 14-5 3-2 26-10 5-2 23-8
Last Meeting
Atlanta Boston
Date Away Home Pts Reb FG% Pts Reb FG%
11/12/24 ATL 117 BOS 116 117 44 50.5 116 34 50.7
Player Stats
Previous Matchup
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Atlanta D. Daniels 28 57.1 3
Boston J. Brown 37 63.6 6
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Atlanta J. Johnson 12 2 10
Boston J. Tatum 6 0 6
Assists Player  
Atlanta J. Johnson 10
Boston J. Tatum 8
Season
Points Player Total FG% FTM
Atlanta T. Young 891 40.4 237
Boston J. Tatum 1125 45.9 214
Rebounds Player Total Off Def
Atlanta C. Capela 379 132 247
Boston J. Tatum 378 29 349
Assists Player  
Atlanta T. Young 461
Boston J. Tatum 224
Quickchart Matchup
Atlanta Atlanta Off vs  Boston Boston Defense
Atlanta Off vs Boston - Points For 117.2 Points For
Atlanta Off vs Boston - Points Against 108.4 Points Against
Atlanta - FG% 46.3 FG%
Boston - FG% 45.3 FG%
Atlanta - Reb 45.5 Reb
Boston - Reb 44.3 Reb
Boston Boston Off vs  Atlanta Atlanta Defense
Boston Off vs Atlanta - Points For 117.6 Points For
Boston Off vs Atlanta - Points Against 119.1 Points Against
Boston - FG% 45.9 FG%
Atlanta - FG% 47.7 FG%
Boston - Reb 45.0 Reb
Atlanta - Reb 44.6 Reb