 Shareef Abdur-Rahim was the big Hawk feasting on the Celtics. from Hawks-Celtics: 56k | 300k |
Atlanta squandered a 21-point third-quarter lead in Indiana on Tuesday and appeared on the verge of blowing a 12-point advantage Wednesday.
"Obviously, I feel really good for the guys after letting one slip last night," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said. "Really impressive for them to bounce back tonight and compete hard and put themselves in position to win again."
Antoine Walker scored eight straight points to bring the Celtics within 87-85 with 1:40 left, but Abdur-Rahim hit a fadeaway jumper with 1:20 to go and Jason Terry made 1-of-2 foul shots with 15 seconds remaining to make it 92-85.
After rookie Joe Johnson missed a 3-pointer for Boston, Toni Kukoc clinched the win with a pair from the line with 4.9 seconds to play.
"If someone comes up and congratulates me for my first playoff appearance, I'll be much more happy about that," said Abdur-Rahim, who never sniffed the postseason while with the Vancouver Grizzlies. "My focus is winning some more games and getting some more wins under my belt."
Terry scored 22 points and Kukoc added 17 for the Hawks, who posted their first road victory since beating Golden State, 98-91, on February 17 of last season. Atlanta started 0-7 on the road this season.
Abdur-Rahim scored 29 points in Saturday's 112-103 victory over the Celtics.
"We just wanted to make sure Shareef was still warm," Terry said. "Last night, he got kind of cold toward the end. We shot like 24 percent in the fourth quarter tonight. We maintained our aggressiveness and came away with a win."
Walker and Paul Pierce each recorded double-doubles for Boston. Walker collected 27 points and 14 rebounds and Pierce added 16 and 11.
"A disappointing loss," Boston coach Jim O'Brien said, "but I think the Atlanta Hawks are better than their 4-8 record. They create a lot of tough matchups and got us into foul trouble."
While Boston outscored Atlanta, 52-26, in the paint, Wednesday's contest was a far cry from Saturday's meeting, when the Celtics made 17 3-pointers, including an NBA-record 10 in the third quarter.
On Wednesday, the Celtics were just 4-of-29 from the arc. Walker was 3-of-8 and the rest of the team a combined 1-of-21.
"We missed some open three shots," Walker said. "They weren't falling tonight."
The Celtics struggled from the start, scoring just 18 points in the first quarter and 19 in the second, and trailed, 43-37, at the intermission.
Atlanta maintained its lead throughout the second half and took a 72-62 edge into the final period when Abdur-Rahim hit a 3-pointer with 1.3 seconds left in the third.
Terry's 3-pointer gave the Hawks an 85-75 lead with 5:57 to play. Walker responded with two three-point plays and a 12-footer in the lane to bring the Celtics within two. But Boston came up empty on its final four possessions.
Kenny Anderson scored 17 points for the Celtics, who shot just 38.5 percent (35-of-91) from the field.
Atlanta was not much better at 42.5 percent (32-of-78) but made made 10-of-22 3-pointers.