ATLANTA — Jaylen Brown took off the mask — revealing a guy who suddenly couldn’t miss.
Brown scored 31 points, most of them after removing a protective facial device he’s worn for two months, and the Boston Celtics moved to the brink of advancing to the second round with a 129-121 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night.
Jayson Tatum also had 31 points for the Celtics, who now lead 3-1 with the best-of-seven series shifting back to Boston for a possible clinching game Tuesday.
Brown stunned his teammates by removing the mask during a timeout early in the second quarter after making only 1 of 7 shots. Marcus Smart joked that no one recognized Brown at first; after all, he’s been wearing the black shield since sustaining facial contusions in February.
“Maybe it was all my head,” Brown said. “I just needed a different look.”
The Celtics sure liked his new look. Brown went 11 of 15 from the field the rest of the way.
“As soon as I took it off, things started to turn around a little bit,” he said.
Both of Boston’s big stars came through when it mattered most.
Brown and Tatum combined to score their team’s final 16 points, thwarting every attempt by the Hawks to even the series.
It was an especially satisfying victory for Brown — not only because he ditched the mask, but doing it in the metro area where he was born and raised.
“It’s bittersweet, man, growing up here,” the 26-year-old Brown said. “My first game was a Hawks game. I was sitting in the nosebleeds. My aunt, who was in attendance tonight, bought me tickets to my first game for my seventh birthday.”
Boston never trailed after grabbing a 4-3 lead on Derrick White’s basket just over a minute into the game.
Tatum delivered a huge 3-pointer off a loose ball with two minutes remaining, pushing the Celtics to a 118-106 lead.
After Trae Young swished a long 3 to provide Atlanta’s last gasp, Brown knocked one down from beyond the arc seal it for the Celtics.
Smart added 19 points and White 18.
Young had another big game for Atlanta with 35 points and 15 assists, but it wasn’t enough. De’Andre Hunter chipped in with 27 and DeJounte Murray had 23.
“They came out with a sense of urgency, and it showed,” Young said. “They’re a really good team. They’re here for a reason.”
Hunter ripped off eight straight points, including a couple of 3s, and then delivered a thunderous dunk that brought the Hawks within 53-49.
But Boston closed the first half on a 12-4 spurt, capped by Smart’s 3-pointer that sent the visitors to the locker room with a 65-53 lead and sapped a lot of energy from the home crowd.
Smart was in the Celtics lineup and looked just fine after a hard fall near the end of Game 3.
He landed on his tailbone while battling for a rebound, prompting Boston to list him as a game-time decision. But coach Joe Mazzulla declared his guard “good to go” well ahead of tipoff.
“The back locked up a few times, but I got through it OK,” Smart said.
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BENCH HELP: After the Atlanta bench came up big in Game 3, the Celtics’ backups carried a major load Sunday.
Especially Robert Williams III, who had 13 points, a game-high 15 rebounds and blocked two shots.
“When he’s healthy, he’s probably the best defender in our league,” Brown said, “He has such a presence on the game.”
Malcolm Brogdon contributed 14 points and four assists. In all, the Boston reserves outscored the Hawks’ bench 30-21.
Knicks on verge of reaching 2nd round for 1st time in decade
NEW YORK (AP) — Jalen Brunson scored 29 points, RJ Barrett had 26 and the New York Knicks took a 3-1 lead over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their first-round series with a 102-93 victory on Sunday.
Josh Hart moved into the starting lineup and added 19 points and seven rebounds for the fifth-seeded Knicks, who would reach the second round for the first time since 2013 if they take this series.
New York forced Cleveland All-Star Donovan Mitchell into one of the worst games of his postseason career, finishing with just 11 points on 5-for-18 shooting.
Darius Garland had 23 points and 10 assists for the Cavs, while Jarrett Allen and Caris LeVert each scored 14.
Game 5 is Wednesday in Cleveland.
Timberwolves 114, Nuggets 108, OT
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Anthony Edwards scored 34 points, Karl-Anthony Towns had 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Minnesota avoided a four-game sweep.
Nikola Jokic tied a playoff career high with 43 points and added 11 rebounds and six assists for the Nuggets.
Rudy Gobert added 14 points and 15 rebounds for Minnesota, which held on after Denver scored the final 12 points of regulation to force overtime. Mike Conley had 19 points for the Timberwolves.
Jamal Murray finished with 19 points and Aaron Gordon 14 for Denver, which looked prime to have a chance to rest before the second round where it would face the winner of the Suns-Clippers series, which Phoenix leads 3-1.
Game 5 is Tuesday in Denver.
Warriors 126, Kings 125
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Stephen Curry scored 32 points but gave Sacramento a late chance when he called a timeout Golden State didn’t have, and the defending champion Warriors held on to beat the Kings when Harrison Barnes missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer, evening their playoff series at two games apiece.
De’Aaron Fox had 38 points, nine rebounds and five assists for Sacramento. His 3-pointer with 28.7 seconds left pulled the Kings within one, and then Curry missed a 16-foot jumper on the other end and Keegan Murray corralled the rebound. With Curry and Draymond Green defending, Fox dished to former Warrior Barnes for the potential game-winning 3, which hit the back of the rim.
Klay Thompson made a baseline 3-pointer to beat the third-quarter buzzer and another with 3:24 left, finishing with 26 points for the Warriors.
Game 5 is Wednesday night in Sacramento.