Hawks 88, Celtics 83
Al Horford collected 16 points and 15 rebounds and Joe Johnson added 19 points and five boards as the Atlanta Hawks dominated the fourth quarter en route to a 88-83 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Friday.
Jamal Crawford chipped in 20 points off the bench and Zaza Pachulia recorded 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks (44-32), who have won four straight to hang onto the No. 5 spot in the Eastern Conference.
Paul Pierce scored 25 points for the Celtics (52-23), who dropped into third place in the East, one-half game behind the Miami Heat (53-23) and three back of the first-place Chicago Bulls (55-20).
Boston held a 66-55 advantage after Ray Allen’s jumper with 2:05 in left in the third but managed only one field goal over the next five minutes. Atlanta bridged the third and fourth quarters with a 16-3 burst to go on top, 71-69, with 9:40 left.
Rajon Rondo made two quick baskets to give the Celtics the lead back, but the Hawks took off on an 11-2 spurt over the next five minutes to go on top for good.