The TD Banknorth Garden was packed with energy on Monday night as the Boston Celtics (26–10) looked for revenge against the Atlanta Hawks (24–13), but a third quarter turnaround brought the Celtics to their knees and a 102–96 defeat.
Monday’s win for the Hawks was their third straight against the Celtics this season and their second at the Garden. Back in November the Hawks delivered the Celtics a 97–86 loss in what would be a string of strange Friday home losses.
The up and coming Hawks brought their record to 2–0 over the Celtics just a few days ago on Friday in Atlanta with sixth man Jamal Crawford leading the team with 18 points in the 93–85 game.
Crawford again on Monday night proved to be the key player down the stretch.
After being ineffectively utilized in the first half with no points in only 12 minutes of playing time, Crawford notched 17 in the second half and sealed the game for the Hawks at the end of the fourth quarter.
After several minutes of lead changes in the middle of the fourth quarter, Crawford hit two of three from the line after a Rajon Rondo foul, and then scored on a driving layup on the next possession with help from a well placed pick to give the Hawks the lead.
The Hawks ran the exact same play on the next possession, except this time Crawford stuck a jumper from deep right instead of a driving layup. The Celtics could do nothing to pull the lead back in the final minute of the game despite a few good shot attempts.
The big contributor for the Hawks was guard Joe Johnson though. Johnson had a season high 36 points in over 42 minutes of playing time, and was five for seven in 3-pointers.
The Rondo-Johnson matchup was excellent to watch, with neither quite able to contain the other’s offensive speed and agility.
Rondo led the Celtics with 26 points and had seven assists, and Johnson hit his 1,000th career field goal at 7:00 to go in the second quarter.
“I was just taking what the defense gave me and trying to make plays. I forced a few [shots] but I thought they were pretty good looks,” a humble Johnson said after the game.
The Celtics got out to an explosive start against the Hawks in the first quarter 31–21 with Rondo scoring 11 and all starters hitting key 3-pointers.
Boston forward Brian Scalabrine took Rasheed Wallace’s spot on the starting roster and played aggressive defensive against Hawks forward Josh Smith.
Scalabrine had several good hustle plays that forced turnovers and jump ball calls and was on fire from the three point line, shooting three-for-three in the first half, including two back to back in the second quarter that forced a Hawks timeout. Wallace joined Celtics star Kevin Garnett on the injury roster.
The Celtics dominated the first half with a strong presence from Kendrick Perkins in the paint, outscoring the Hawks 26–16 down low and going into the half with a nine-point lead.
Perkins had a tough job bringing down defensive boards though, and had several embarrassing turnovers from travels.
Monday’s win for the Hawks was their third straight against the Celtics this season and their second at the Garden. Back in November the Hawks delivered the Celtics a 97–86 loss in what would be a string of strange Friday home losses.
The up and coming Hawks brought their record to 2–0 over the Celtics just a few days ago on Friday in Atlanta with sixth man Jamal Crawford leading the team with 18 points in the 93–85 game.
Crawford again on Monday night proved to be the key player down the stretch.
After being ineffectively utilized in the first half with no points in only 12 minutes of playing time, Crawford notched 17 in the second half and sealed the game for the Hawks at the end of the fourth quarter.
After several minutes of lead changes in the middle of the fourth quarter, Crawford hit two of three from the line after a Rajon Rondo foul, and then scored on a driving layup on the next possession with help from a well placed pick to give the Hawks the lead.
The Hawks ran the exact same play on the next possession, except this time Crawford stuck a jumper from deep right instead of a driving layup. The Celtics could do nothing to pull the lead back in the final minute of the game despite a few good shot attempts.
The big contributor for the Hawks was guard Joe Johnson though. Johnson had a season high 36 points in over 42 minutes of playing time, and was five for seven in 3-pointers.
The Rondo-Johnson matchup was excellent to watch, with neither quite able to contain the other’s offensive speed and agility.
Rondo led the Celtics with 26 points and had seven assists, and Johnson hit his 1,000th career field goal at 7:00 to go in the second quarter.
“I was just taking what the defense gave me and trying to make plays. I forced a few [shots] but I thought they were pretty good looks,” a humble Johnson said after the game.
Fast Break
The Celtics got out to an explosive start against the Hawks in the first quarter 31–21 with Rondo scoring 11 and all starters hitting key 3-pointers.
Boston forward Brian Scalabrine took Rasheed Wallace’s spot on the starting roster and played aggressive defensive against Hawks forward Josh Smith.
Scalabrine had several good hustle plays that forced turnovers and jump ball calls and was on fire from the three point line, shooting three-for-three in the first half, including two back to back in the second quarter that forced a Hawks timeout. Wallace joined Celtics star Kevin Garnett on the injury roster.
The Celtics dominated the first half with a strong presence from Kendrick Perkins in the paint, outscoring the Hawks 26–16 down low and going into the half with a nine-point lead.
Perkins had a tough job bringing down defensive boards though, and had several embarrassing turnovers from travels.
