The Atlanta Hawks will look to go up 3-0 in their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the host Boston Celtics in Game 3 on Friday at TD Garden.
The Hawks head into Boston after claiming the first two games of the series, which included a 89-72 routing on Tuesday. Al Horford had 17 points (6-11 FG, 3-4 3Pt, 2-2 FT), five rebounds, five blocks, two assists, and one steal across 31 minutes. Kyle Korver contributed 17 points (6-9 FG, 5-7 3Pt), seven rebounds, two assists, one steal, and one block across 33 minutes. Dennis Schroder suffered a sprained left ankle in Tuesday's win and is considered questionable for Friday. Kent Bazemore, who continues to deal with soreness in his right knee, has been ruled probable for the game, just like in the first two games of the series. Look for official decisions on both players to come sometime after Friday morning's shootaround. The Hawks recalled Lamar Patterson and Walter Tavares from the D-League on Thursday. With the D-League playoffs over, both players will now remain with the Atlanta for the remainder of the season.
The Celtics will hope to turn the series in front of their home crowd on Friday, where they posted 28-13 record during the regular season. However they head into Boston hurting, with Avery Bradley, Marcus Smart, and Kelly Olynyk all on the injury report. Bradley has already been ruled out for Game 3 and will most likely miss the entirety of the first-round series, even though an MRI on his strained left hamstring came back negative. Smart bruised his rib in Game 2, but it appears barring any further complications, that he'll be on the court Friday. Head coach Brad Stevens said Olynyk is "questionable at best" after missing Game 2 with right shoulder soreness. Boston will look to Isaiah Thomas, who has averaged 21.5 points in each of the first two games, to lead the charge on Friday night as they look to avoid an ever-looming series sweep.
