The Boston Celtics have been struggling late in games and tonight wasn't an exception. They stormed out to take a first quarter lead of 42-30 and opened the second quarter with an 11-0 run for their largest lead of the night. At halftime, the Celtics still had a commanding 66-50 lead. But, as usual, they let their opponents get back in the game.
Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer let backup point guard Dennis Schröder finish the game instead of Jeff Teague, and the second-year player took advantage of the opportunity to make a career-high 15 points to go along with four assists.
Kyle Korver played a big part in the comeback. He made 10 points in the third quarter alone and was his team's leading scorer with 24 points. He hit six-of-seven from three-point distance this night and improved on an already outstanding three-point percentage.
The Celtics had a chance to tie the game with 15 seconds to go when Jeff Green missed a wide open jump shot from the top of the key. Instead, the Hawks got the rebound and finished with a Kent Bazemore layup to decide the game.
The Celtics shot better from long range in this game than they have been most of the season, as they hit 12 out of 23 three-point shots. Rajon Rondo continues to struggle with scoring, as he only hit one out of eight shots for two points. But otherwise, he had a rare assist-rebound double-double with a season-high 19 assists and 12 rebounds.
Atlanta are now only one win away from second place in the East, while Boston are now 4-11 and in need of a winning streak to have any chance of making the playoffs this season.
The Atlanta Hawks will play in Miami tomorrow, December 3, while the Boston Celtics will host another struggling Eastern Conference team, the Detroit Pistons, also tomorrow.
