Before the Celtics played the Hawks in a game with huge playoff implications, Brad Stevens told his guys, “Play well. Same thing as yesterday … It isn’t anything different than yesterday. It’s 1 of 79.”
Unfortunately, the standings now say differently. The Hawks pulled away in the fourth quarter to take this one, 118-107, and now have a one-game lead over Boston (plus the tie-breaker) for the third seed in the East. Unless the Celts win their final two and Atlanta loses their last two, the highest Boston can finish now is fourth.
Boston had no answer for Paul Millsap, who bullied the Celts for a season-high 31 points on 13-22 shooting, along with 16 rebounds and five blocks. Jeff Teague added 24 and Kent Bazemore had 21. The Cs had six players in double figures, led by Marcus Smart’s 19, but their shooting and scoring faded in the second half.
When Avery Bradley made a layup with 6:30 to play, the Celtics were down just 103-101, but from that point on all the big plays were made by Atlanta. In that stretch, Boston made just three free throws and one field goal (a garbage-time three by R.J. Hunter with 42 seconds left).
Off the jump, Atlanta took charge as Millsap made his first three shots and Bazemore (game-time decision with a knee injury) hit a three. The Cs trailed 11-6 after less than three minutes and Brad called a timeout to tell them they weren’t hustling back on defense. Amir Johnson responded with two blocked shots, and Boston got some deflections with active hands. Still, points went up quickly. Marcus Smart hit two triples late in the quarter, and only a give-me-a-break Dennis Schroder heave at the buzzer allowed Atlanta to lead after one, 34-32.
Smart continued his strong play in the second, scoring eight points in the quarter. At halftime he had 14 points, while Johnson and Bradley each added 10. For Atlanta, Teague had 16 at intermission, and Millsap and Bazemore had 14 apiece. Both teams shot nearly 60% for the half and made 10 threes, as the Celts took a 71-67 lead to the break.
Smart started the third quarter in place of Jared Sullinger, who played less than six minutes before halftime. That meant Crowder guarded Al Horford, and it worked – the big man was scoreless in seven minutes for the period.
The Cs used a six-point run mid-third period to go ahead, 87-75. The highlights were Amir blocking Horford’s layup, and two Boston steals that led to consecutive Jae Crowder layups. The Hawks answered right back with eight straight, capped by a Millsap triple. After a Smart putback, the Celtics were still ahead by six with 2:23 remaining, but the Hawks closed the quarter on an 8-0 run. Millsap capped that stretch with a lucky banked three, followed by a strip of Isaiah Thomas and a driving layup.
In the fourth, the Celts stayed close during the first six minutes, but never held the lead again.
The Green:
Johnson had one of his best efforts, especially on defense. He had 14 points, eight rebounds, four blocks, a steal, and altered many Atlanta shots in the paint.
Smart was 4 of 5 from the arc in the first half as Celts scored 71 points.
In one sequence, Bradley prevented a layup by Bazemore and on the other end drained a transition three for a lead.
The Gross:
Atlanta was 17-33 from the arc, 51.5%. They came in averaging 9.9 threes per game.
Crowder made a three and was fouled, but missed the free throw.
In the second quarter, Bazemore hit a triple, then immediately stole the inbounds pass for a layup.
Despite Boston’s high-scoring first half, Atlanta stayed close by putting up 67 points.
Boston scored only 36 points in the second half.
Thomas was ineffective for the first time in weeks. IT struggled to finish around the rim and scored just 16 points on 6-19 shooting. He also had four turnovers and was an uncharacteristic -16.
The Greenlights:
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The Grid:
- Celtics’ FG%: First half, 57.8%; second half, 31.1%
- FT%: Celtics, 66.7% (16-24); Hawks, 81.8% (9-11)
- Points in the Paint: Celtics, 46 (23/48), Hawks, 44 (22/44)
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