That's three wins in three tries for Atlanta against Boston, including two in a span of four days.
The fans are blaming this one on the officials, but 19 turnovers (compare that to just seven for the Hawks) just killed the C's. Atlanta did shoot 15 more free throws than the hosts. Make of that what you wish.
In the three losses to Atlanta, Boston has been severely outplayed in the second half, a cause for concern when it continues to happen. Sure, the C's are shorthanded now, but they cannot apply that excuse to each scenario.
In any event, it's the 10th loss of the season for Boston, which must regroup before visiting New Jersey on Wednesday night.
Fourth quarter, 1:40, Hawks 100-96: Jamal Crawford scores on a drive to give Atlanta a four-point lead for the first time in the game.
There hasn't been as much Rajon Rondo of late here. He was getting to the basket at will early on, although much of that was on Mike Bibby, who has been absent for a long time now.
Fourth quarter, 2:14, Hawks 98-96: I don't think all of the calls have been as bad as everyone else here, but the officials are going to have a hard time getting out of here if the Celtics can't win.
Fourth quarter, 2:16, 96-96: Paul Pierce is on Joe Johnson here.
Fourth quarter, 2:34, 96-96: Glen Davis ties it with a big three-point play. Now just find Joe Johnson.
Fourth quarter, 2:44, Hawks 96-93: We had just three lead changes in the first three quarters (I misspoke earlier on the Hawks' last lead — it was at 14-13) but there have been a series in the fourth and Joe Johnson just delivered the latest.
He is unconscious right now and the Celtics are running on fumes. Johnson has 36 points (his season high is 40) and the Hawks have matched their largest lead.
I know they won't make any substitutions in the closing minutes except for shooting or defensive purposes, but it's notable that the same five Celtics have been on the floor now for almost 17 straight minutes. How can they not be tired?
Fourth quarter, 5:00, Hawks 89-88: Josh Smith hits a jumper to give Atlanta its first lead since it was 3-0.
Fourth quarter, 6:32, Celtics 86-85: There has been no shortage of hard fouls in this one. Ray Allen just made sure that Al Horford would earn his points on the line.
Horford made just 1-of-2, making it a good foul on Allen's part.
Fourth quarter, 7:32, Celtics 84-82: A follow-up note to what I wrote a second ago about no Brian Scalabrine for the last quarter or so.
When Scalabrine was replaced by Glen Davis with 7:13 to go in the third, that marked the last substitution the Celtics made. Period.
The lineup of Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Davis and Kendrick Perkins is taking us to the finish line, apparently. Does Tom Thibodeau know he can make substitutions?
Fourth quarter, 8:47, Celtics 84-82: We have not seen Brian Scalabrine since he picked up his fourth foul with 7:13 left in the third quarter and the Celtics up 11.
Fourth quarter, 9:07, Celtics 84-82: Turnovers, turnovers, turnovers. They are killing the Celtics once again. So, too, is Joe Johnson.
The C's have 17 turnovers and Johnson has 29 points.
Fourth quarter, 11:19, Celtics 82-77: Mike Woodson waits 41 seconds before calling a timeout in the fourth — upset, apparently, by a defensive breakdown on the C's opening possession.
On the play, Paul Pierce found Kendrick Perkins for a dunk after the Hawks were caught in a series of switches.
End of third quarter, Celtics 80-77: Rajon Rondo allows the Celtics to close an otherwise poor quarter on a good note as he scores on one end and then plays superb defense on Jamal Crawford on the other, forcing the Hawks sharpshooter into a difficult shot before the buzzer.
While the fans are all over the officials here, the C's are to blame for letting Atlanta back in this one. They had eight turnovers in the third, tossed in a flagrant foul and three technicals and were a step slow on the defensive end throughout.
One indication as to who is playing a more physical game — the Hawks have taken 13 more free throws than the Celts.
Third quarter, 50 seconds, 75-75: After the officials didn't call what appeared to be a traveling violation on Al Horford, Jamal Crawford hits a 3-pointer to tie it for Atlanta.
Third quarter, 1:49, Celtics 75-72: I'm beginning to think that Tony Allen may still be under the weather a bit.
Allen, who missed a game with the stomach bug that hit the team last week, has played sparingly in this one. When healthy, it would seem like he'd be a good option to mark Joe Johnson, who has eight of his 24 points in the third quarter.
Third quarter, 2:26, Celtics 75-70: Here we go again. For whatever reason the Hawks just seem to take over against the Celtics in the third quarter and Jamal Crawford is getting into the flow a bit more, a dangerous sign for the stretch run.
Crawford just buried a 3-pointer to pull Atlanta within three points, part of a 13-6 run after the Glen Davis flagrant foul.
Third quarter, 4:48, Celtics 69-65: The mess has been cleaned up a bit and we are back to basketball but after a traveling call on Kendrick Perkins the refs are really hearing it.
Tom Thibodeau is manning the sidelines for Boston, which has seen its lead shrink to four.
Third quarter, 6:16, Celtics 67-60: Doc Rivers has just been tossed from this one for arguing a flagrant foul on Glen Davis, who corralled Jamal Crawford in an effort to prevent him from going up on a fast break.
A Celtics assistant was also given a technical as the argument continued, but it is so loud here we can't hear who it was on.
Meanwhile the Hawks are as close as they've been in a long time.
Third quarter, 8:15, Celtics 63-54: Joe Johnson is beginning to toy with Ray Allen a bit out there. He just used about six crossovers on Allen before settling for a fallaway that drew nothing but net.
Johnson leads all scorers with 22 points.
Third quarter, 9:45, Celtics 62-48: The Celtics have matched their largest lead of the game after Paul Pierce finds Kendrick Perkins for a dunk.
Just before the basket, Josh Smith missed two free throws, part of a difficult night thus far for the high-flyer. He has been stymied by Brian Scalabrine, who sent Smith to the line on that play with a pretty good foul.
Scal had forced Smith to a tough spot baseline and then got a lot of ball as the Hawks forward went up. Smith now has four points in 20 minutes.
Third quarter, 11:02, Celtics 58-48: We are underway in the second half and the Celtics get Ray Allen going right away by rolling him off some screens and having him knock down his second 3-pointer.
Halftime, Celtics 55-46: In an otherwise spectacular half for Rajon Rondo, he puts up a difficult shot on the Celtics' last possession.
But Boston is in great shape after shooting 59 percent from the floor and making 8-of-12 3-pointers in the opening half.
Rondo has 17 points, Paul Pierce 13 and Brian Scalabrine a season-high 13.
The Hawks, who are led by Joe Johnson's 16 points, are within shouting distance in large part because they have pulled down a bunch of offensive boards and are getting to the line much more than the C's.
Remember, Atlanta outscored Boston 29-15 in the third quarter Friday night and these C's are even more shorthanded than they were that night. It was Jamal Crawford who got hot for the Hawks in that one, scoring 14 of his 18 points in the second half. He is scoreless in 10 minutes thus far.
Second quarter, 3:35, Celtics 47-36: While we are giving Brian Scalabrine some love, it's important to note that he has dominated Josh Smith on the defensive end of the floor.
Smith, who averages 14.9 points a game and had 15 against the C's on Friday, is scoreless on 0-of-4 shooting. Scal's nine points, meanwhile, are a season high and his best output since Feb. 22 of last year, when he started in Phoenix and finished with 14 points in a 128-108 win.
Second quarter, 5:20, Celtics 45-34: Somebody better find Brian Scalabrine out there, because for the first time pretty much all season, he is feeling it.
It goes to show how unpredictable this sport can be at times. Scalabrine, as noted earlier, was 1-of-19 from the floor over a span of 11 games coming in, but he's made all three of his shots in this one, each from beyond the arc.
As you might expect, the "Scalabrine" chant has erupted.
Second quarter, 6:39, Celtics 37-31: With this Rajon Rondo-Eddie House backcourt, Rondo is guarding Joe Johnson, who is six inches taller.
On cue, Johnson buries a 3-pointer over Rondo.
Second quarter, 8:35, Celtics 35-25: Even with Rajon Rondo back on the floor, Eddie House has brought the ball up a couple of times here, which allows me to point out one of my favorite running stats.
House entered the game having played over 144 minutes over the course of nine games without committing a turnover. He'll take that streak over 150 minutes in just a bit here, a pretty phenomenal stretch.
Brian Scalabrine just revealed to the crowd through an interactive game on the big screen that he once jumped off an 80-foot bridge into a body of water. Just thought you'd like to know.
Second quarter, 10:51, Celtics 35-21: The Celtics' run, going back to the first quarter, is now at 17-3 after Shelden Williams gets his first hoop here early in the second.
End of first quarter, 31-21: Rajon Rondo has had little letdown from his triple-double performance Sunday and in fact may be off to an even better start in this one.
Rondo just buried his fourth 3-pointer in as many attempts over the last three games to beat the shot clock, and just seconds later, he fed Ray Allen on the break for a layup. The little man has 11 points and four assists.
Although they have shown a tendency to play some uneven basketball at home this season, the Celtics look as focused as we've seen in some time here. The way they fell apart in the second half at Philips Arena on Friday may have really irked them.
Boston is shooting 63 percent, has made 4-of-5 3-pointers and is outrbounding Atlanta 12-7.
First quarter, 2:10, Celtics 24-16: Paul Pierce knocks down a 3-pointer and this is an 11-2 run for the Celtics.
First quarter, 2:57, Celtics 18-16: Kendrick Perkins is not pleased with the severity of a foul by Zaza Pachulia, who has a history of getting under the skin of the C's.
Pachulia was whistled for a flagrant foul on the play.
Remember Pachulia and Kevin Garnett nearly coming to blows in the 2008 playoffs.
First quarter, 3:19, Celtics 18-14: Ray Allen is the last Celtics starter to get into the scoring column, but does so at a great time, making a 3-pointer to give the C's their largest lead.
First quarter, 4:35, Hawks 14-13: Mike Bibby draws Kendrick Perkins and goes around him like motorists go by my father on the interstate — quickly and without incident.
First quarter, 5:44, 11-11: The Celtics are outshooting the Hawks 56 percent to 36 percent, but a fast start should be tempered by the fact that Boston was hot early Friday before the Hawks found the mark late.
In that one, the Green made seven of their first 12 3-pointers but finished 9-of-24.
First quarter, 6:13, Celtics 11-9: Another great hoop for Rajon Rondo, who gets in the lane again and tosses in a ball that was rolling up his arm a bit.
Mike Bibby responds with a 3-pointer.
First quarter, 9:20, Celtics 5-3: I knew I could get Brian Scalabrine going.
After putting out the note that he had been mired in a horrific shooting slump, he bangs out a 3-pointer to give the C's their first lead.
More importantly, he forced Josh Smith into an airball on one possession and then knocked the ball away from him on another.
First quarter, 10:08, Hawks 3-2: Rajon Rondo gets the Celtics on the board with a great move down the lane. Amid all the distractions the Celtics have had, he has just been remarkable.
First quarter, 11:50, 0-0: Just a quick note since Brian Scalabrine is in the starting lineup, and it's not a good one.
Scalabrine has made just one of his last 19 shots over an 11-game span. Gulp.
7:40 p.m.: Brian Scalabrine will be starting in place of Rasheed Wallace. It is Scal's first start since Feb. 23 of last year at Denver.
Wallace actually had some rough moments playing Josh Smith when these teams met Friday, but it certainly hurts to see this lineup dwindled even more.
At the very least, there are hundreds of fans here delighted that Scalabrine will be out there a bit more.
7:22 p.m.: Another injury for the Celtics as Rasheed Wallace is out tonight with what team officials are terming a sore left forefoot.
No word yet on who will start in his place but I'll get that to you as soon as we are told.
7:10 p.m.: Greetings from the Garden, where we are getting primed for another Celtics-Hawks matchup.
Starting lineups are in and there are no surprises on either side.
Boston goes with Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, Rasheed Wallace and Kendrick Perkins. That lineup has gone 3-1 as a starting unit.
Atlanta features Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson at guard, Marvin Williams and Josh Smith up front, and Al Horford underneath.
Celtics coach Doc Rivers said that Kevin Garnett began light workouts today to test his injured right knee and that Garnett is about 10 days away. Rivers has said that before but that was before Garnett actually did any exercise on the knee. The knee feels good, according to Rivers, and it will be just a matter of conditioning for Garnett.
10:48 a.m.: For just the second time in 20 days, the Celtics will be playing at home. For the second time in four days they will be playing the Atlanta Hawks.
Neither scenario is necessarily a recipe for comfort, as the C's have been better on the road all season and have yet to solve the Hawks in 2009-10.
Atlanta improved to 2-0 against the Green on Friday with a 93-85 win in Philips Arena. The Hawks also posted a 97-86 victory in their last trip to the TD Garden back in November.
In the two losses the Celtics have been outrebounded by a total of 21 boards, have made just 10 of 39 3-pointers and have posted two of their three worst offensive showings all season.
Boston was able to right the ship a bit with Sunday's bounce-back win in Toronto. Rajon Rondo posted his sixth career triple-double, including the playoffs, and Rasheed Wallace had a season-high 29 points.
Atlanta, meanwhile, failed to build off its win over the Celts, losing by 32 points the next night in Orlando. Joe Johnson, Mike Bibby and Jamal Crawford combined to shoot 7-for-28 from the floor.
The tip is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. and we will be courtside to bring you everything.
