Celtics at Hawks
The season has taken a decided downturn for the Boston Celtics, who have followed a six-game winning streak with a five-game skid to drop two games under .500 and into eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The Celtics struggled again offensively in Thursday's 89-86 home loss to the New York Knicks. Boston managed to score only 38 points in the second half and had only two players reach double figures. Point guard Rajon Rondo was one of them, registering his fourth triple-double of the season.
Atlanta was also in a tailspin, dropping eight of 10 before running into a pair of struggling opponents this week. The Hawks defeated injury-riddled Minnesota at home before winning at woeful Charlotte. Now they'll have a chance to avenge an 89-81 home loss to the Celtics on Jan. 5. Atlanta is hoping to get some bodies back for the matchup with Boston. Big men Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia and guard Devin Harris sat out the game vs. the Bobcats and all are expected to be game-time decisions.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Comcast SportsNet New England (Boston), SportSouth (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (20-22): Boston had hoped that Jason Terry would pick up the scoring slack left by the departure of Ray Allen to Miami, but the former sixth man extraordinaire has looked nothing like the player that helped Dallas win an NBA title in 2010-11. Terry had another non-productive outing against the Knicks, scoring two points on 1-for-6 shooting and missing all three 3-point attempts. Terry is averaging 5.6 points in 12 games this month and has been held to six points or fewer eight times.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (24-18): With its frontcourt thin due to the injuries to Horford and Pachulia, forward Josh Smith plugged the void with a monster game against Charlotte. Smith had 30 points, 13 rebounds, eight assists and three blocked shots in what could have been a final audition for an All-Star berth. It didn't happen, though, as Smith was bypassed when the Eastern Conference reserves were announced Thursday. Smith has had an erratic two weeks that included a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Celtics eliminated the Hawks in six games in the playoffs last season.
2. Atlanta is the second-worst free-throw shooting team (69.6 percent) while the Celtics rank last in rebounding (39.1).
3. Boston F Paul Pierce has averaged 22.6 points in his career against Atlanta.