Al Horford comes up with a big performance against a C's lineup that was shorthanded up front. The Hawks' big man drops 16 points and 15 rebounds in the victory.
The Celtics get 25 from Paul Pierce, and double-doubles from both Rajon Rondo (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Kevin Garnett (10, 10). But the execution down the stretch isn't enough to get it done.
The C's return home this weekend. They'll take on the Detroit Pistons at the TD Garden on Sunday night.
Fourth quarter, 10.9 seconds, Hawks 86-83: The Celtics are still alive. Paul Pierce hits two free throws, and the Celtics' suffocating team defense pushes the Hawks to the brink of a shot-clock violation before they call timeout.
They've only got five seconds to shoot. The Celtics still have plenty of time to get the ball back, call a timeout, and map out a play to tie the game with one last 3.
Fourth quarter, 35.8 seconds, Hawks 86-81: Pachulia sinks both free throws.
Time for the Celtics to get desperate now. Not much else to say.
Fourth quarter, 35.8 seconds, Hawks 84-81: Rajon Rondo tries to find Ray Allen off a screen for a game-tying 3, but Ray can't get there. Rondo puts the ball inside instead to Glen Davis, and Davis gets two shots.
But he misses them both, and Kevin Garnett is called for a foul pushing Zaza Pachulia off of the rebound.
That's a bad turn of events for the Celtics. Pachulia has two shots and a chance to put this thing away.
Fourth quarter, 1:23, Hawks 84-81: Kevin Garnett just blew a golden opportunity. He had a pretty good look at a short jumper to put the C's within one, but he passed it up and gave Glen Davis a 19-footer. Davis chucked it and missed it right away.
KG: too unselfish. Big Baby: too selfish. Not a good combination right now.
The Hawks have a three-point lead, the ball, and a good chance to close this thing.
Fourth quarter, 2:39, Hawks 84-81: The Celtics are far from dead. Paul Pierce comes up with a three-point play, and then Ray Allen knocks down a jumper from deep on the following possession.
Ray is the wild card here. He's been cold all night — all week, really — but if he turns it on down the stretch, the Celtics might win this thing.
Fourth quarter, 3:16, Hawks 82-75: That one might be the back-breaker. Joe Johnson finds an open 3 on the wing and takes it without hesitation. It's good, and it's the first 3 of the second half for anyone on either team. Big moment for a big shot.
That makes it an 11-2 Atlanta run. The C's can't score right now to save their lives. They've got to snap out of this, and soon.
Fourth quarter, 4:15, Hawks 79-75: Zaza Pachulia makes a big play to rip an offensive rebound out of Kevin Garnett's hands. He draws the foul from Paul Pierce, putting the Celtics in the bonus.
Then he makes both shots. The Hawks are back up by four.
The C's can feel this one slipping away.
Fourth quarter, 6:05, Hawks 77-73: The lead just keeps swinging back and forth. The Celtics are out in front until the Hawks rattle off three quick buckets, including two from Al Horford.
Doc Rivers calls timeout.
He's got to get Kevin Garnett back in there. He needs a huge defensive effort down the stretch. That's KG's role.
Fourth quarter, 8:27, Celtics 73-71: The Hawks briefly take the lead, but Rajon Rondo singlehandedly snatches it back. The C's point guard comes up with back-to-back buckets, and he's got his team in front by two.
Rondo now has 13 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Another solid all-around night for him.
Can the C's find eight more minutes of energy to close this thing?
Fourth quarter, 10:10, 69-69: And just like that, we're all tied up. The Hawks are making their push against a porous Boston second unit.
The C's are rounding out a tough 96-minute stretch of basketball, between San Antonio last night and Atlanta tonight. But if they really want to get this win, they've got to send their starters back in there and get 10 inspired minutes out of them.
End of third quarter, Celtics 68-62: Jamal Crawford makes a big play in the final five seconds of the third quarter, dashing from coast to coast and knocking down a floater in the lane. The Hawks have cut Boston's lead from eight to six.
If the Hawks are going to make a push and overtake the Celtics in this fourth quarter, it's got to come from two guys: Crawford, who now has 18 points off the bench, and Al Horford, who's turned in a dominant all-around performance with 10 points, 11 rebounds and four assists.
The rest of the Hawks have been a little underwhelming tonight. It's up to those two to make up the difference.
Third quarter, 1:53, Celtics 66-55: Delonte West with the deflection, Paul Pierce with the steal, and Ray Allen with the dunk in transition. That's just solid team basketball.
The Hawks really aren't executing well right now. The Celtics are capitalizing on every mistake.
Third quarter, 4:59, Celtics 60-51: Al Horford clearly isn't giving up on this game yet. He gets inside for a thunderous slam off of a Josh Smith assist.
That big play might be exactly the jolt the Hawks need to get back into this one. But they've still got to keep Pierce and KG from getting open looks from mid-range, and that doesn't appear to be happening anytime soon.
Third quarter, 6:58, Celtics 60-48: Rajon Rondo continues to barge into the paint and wreak havoc. Kirk Hinrich is still no match for him athletically.
First Rondo gets past Hinrich to the basket and draws a foul; then on the following possession, he gets inside and kicks out to Kevin Garnett for a jumper.
Rondo is bringing that game-changing athleticism again. That's how you know his slump is really, truly, over.
Third quarter, 10:11, Celtics 56-44: The Celtics start strong in the third quarter, getting back-to-back mid-range jumpers from Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett. They've bolted out to a double-digit lead.
The Celtics are executing offensively like a well-oiled machine. They're moving the ball, getting good looks and knocking them down.
Right now, the Hawks just look totally outclassed.
Halftime, Celtics 52-44: The Celtics go on a 12-1 run toward the end of the first half, seizing control of the ballgame. Paul Pierce is pumped up, with good reason.
Pierce has 14 points to lead the way; Rajon Rondo does his part with nine points, four assists and three rebounds.
Jamal Crawford has a game-high 15 points off the bench for Atlanta.
The Celtics have become the aggressors in this one. Let's see if they can run with this.
Second quarter, 2:44, 41-41: The 3-point shooting has worn out its welcome with the Hawks. They were hot a few minutes ago; they've since gone ice cold. Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson and Kirk Hinrich have each missed one in the last three possessions.
The Hawks are now 3-for-9 from long range. Not great.
The Celtics are 5-for-7.
Second quarter, 4:31, Hawks 37-36: Jamal Crawford is really heating up. He's now got 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting, including two 3s.
The guy was named Sixth Man of the Year for a reason. He can hop off the bench and score at will. If 11 points in 12 minutes doesn't impress you, then nothing will.
Second quarter, 6:28, Hawks 32-31: The Hawks were without a field goal for the first four minutes of this quarter. They've since come to life.
Kirk Hinrich connects on a 3-pointer on one possession; Jamal Crawford hits his own on the following one.
The C's have a guard pairing of Delonte West and Ray Allen on the floor right now. Those two guys need to team up to guard the 3-point line together.
Second quarter, 8:41, Celtics 26-24: Even Glen Davis himself can't believe that shot went in. Big Baby squares up from the top of the key with the shot clock winding down, and he's forced to take the 3. Shockingly, he makes it.
Baby is now 2-for-13 from long distance this season. For his career, he's 4-for-22.
Even a blind squirrel… yeah, you know how it goes.
Second quarter, 10:28, 23-23: Delonte West makes an athletic play against Jeff Teague — blocking his shot, taking the ball away, dashing coast to coast and getting by him to the rim. But he misses the layup and loses the ball out of bounds.
That's the story of this Celtic second unit — skilled, but tantalizingly incomplete. Just like that play.
End of first quarter, Hawks 23-21: Twelve minutes down, and already two little skirmishes in the books. This time Jermaine O'Neal gets into a little shoving match with Zaza Pachulia.
What is it about these two teams? They're out for blood tonight.
In J.O.'s case, it's not surprising. He's always been an irritable guy in the heat of the moment, so if you mess with him, he'll fight back. But with Pachulia, Pierce and Johnson, the flaring of tempers has been a little unusual.
In any event, the Hawks have the lead at the end of the first quarter, thanks in no small part to Al Horford. Their All-Star big man has two points, four rebounds, two assists and a nice block, a solid all-around quarter.
Pierce has 10 points for the C's. The rest of the team is still working to get it going offensively.
First quarter, 2:45, Hawks 17-15: Johnson and Pierce collide again; this time, Johnson gets the whistle and Pierce picks up his first foul.
Are these two going to go at it this hard all night? Johnson isn't exactly the physical type. He's got a little extra edge for this one, though.
First quarter, 3:34, Hawks 15-10: Joe Johnson delivers a hard foul to Paul Pierce. Pierce gets back up and gives Johnson a shove; he gets instantly T'd up.
That should set the tone for this one. Both teams are clearly willing to get physical to win this game.
Pierce is angry. Let's see if that fuels him.
First quarter, 4:51, Hawks 12-10: The Celtics still haven't gotten anything out of Ray Allen tonight. He's 0-for-1.
Ray has been mired in an ugly slump lately. It's been two weeks since he either shot over 50 percent or scored over 15 points.
The C's are a much better team when they have Ray's shooting to open the floor. They've been sorely lacking that lately.
First quarter, 7:26, Hawks 10-6: Josh Smith just blew past Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett to the basket, finishing with an emphatic slam. The Hawks' fans are fired up now.
That's Smith's first bucket against the Celtics all season. Not a bad way to break out of a wretched shooting slump — he was 0-for-11 against the C's going into tonight.
First quarter, 9:18, 4-4: Rajon Rondo is showing some aggression early, charging into the paint and creating for himself. He's got the first two buckets of the game for Boston.
Kirk Hinrich can't keep up with Rondo, it would appear. Look for the Celtics to attack that mismatch as much as possible tonight.
First quarter, 11:41, Hawks 2-0: After announcing that Jason Collins would get the start against Boston, the Hawks throw a curveball and throw Marvin Williams out there. Williams announces his arrival right away, nailing a jumper on the opening possession of the ballgame.
Williams isn't a super-athletic guy, but he can knock down a jumper here and there if you leave him open. Just another weapon to be aware of in this Hawks lineup.
8 p.m.: Normally when you see Glen Davis in the Celtics' starting five, he's the "Ticket Stub," starting in place of "Big Ticket" Kevin Garnett. Tonight, the two will take the floor side by side.
Davis will start at center. The Hawks, perhaps looking to exploit the Celtics' lack of size tonight, will go with Jason Collins up front. Collins just had a big game defensively against Dwight Howard, so he's nothing to sneeze at.
The C's can't win this one with size. They've got to rely on their skill and smarts.
6:30 p.m.: This will be a tough one for the C's — they're rounding out a back-to-back, they just played the NBA-leading Spurs the night before, and they're taking on a tough Hawks team with a lot to prove.
Plus they're without their starting center.
With Nenad Krstic back in Boston getting an MRI on his injured knee, the Celtics are left with a center platoon of Glen Davis and Jermaine O'Neal. Not ideal — one guy's undersized, the other's underprepared.
Let's see if they can make it home from Atlanta alive. Things get easier after this — the C's return home for their next two games, they'll have J.O. back in the groove, and Shaquille O'Neal may play soon, as well.
8 a.m.: The cycle of big men continues for the Celtics.
Jermaine O'Neal returned for the C's on Thursday night, playing for the first time since Jan. 10 and helping them to a convincing win over the San Antonio Spurs, 107-97. O'Neal scored five points in 11 minutes and was solid defensively against Tim Duncan — but the news wasn't all good for Boston.
"I thought J.O. was absolutely wonderful for us," coach Doc Rivers said. "But then another big goes down."
That big would be Nenad Krstic. The man who's started the Celtics' last 18 games since the departure of Kendrick Perkins a month ago, won't be around to start his 19th. He's headed back to Boston for an MRI on his injured right knee — at best, it's just a sprained ligament, but at worst, it's a torn ACL. The C's can only hope for the best.
Meanwhile, they've got a game to play. They've won two out of three so far on their weeklong road trip, and the trip ends on Friday night in Atlanta. The C's will take on a Hawks team that they've already beaten twice this season.
With Krstic out, it's unclear whether O'Neal or Glen Davis will get the start at center. Smart money says it'll be Davis, as O'Neal is just getting back and still taking things slow with his conditioning.
The Hawks will have a healthy Joe Johnson. Their $124 million man missed a game earlier this week with a sprained right thumb, but he's back now and good to go.
The Celtics are 52-22, two games behind Chicago for first place in the Eastern Conference; the Hawks are 43-32, firmly locked into fifth. The C's will continue their chase for the East's top spot at 8 p.m. Friday, at Philips Arena.
