Coming off one of their most dominant victories in recent memory, the Atlanta Hawks aim for their third straight victory when they host the Boston Celtics on Tuesday. Atlanta, which is 7-2 at home, has won four of five and is coming off a 105-75 drubbing of Charlotte on Saturday. The Celtics have dropped four straight and seven of eight after a 111-89 home loss to San Antonio on Sunday in which they were outscored 66-40 in the second half.
The Hawks have been impressive at the offensive end lately, averaging 106.7 points on 51.5 percent shooting over the past three games, but it was their play at the other end that pleased their coach against the Hornets. "The guys have really committed and were very good defensively," Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer told reporters. "We can't rest. We have to get better." The Celtics' late collapse against the Spurs was nothing new — they've been outscored by an NBA-worst average of 5.4 points in the fourth quarter this season.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), SportSouth (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (4-10): Boston has been one of the worst defensive teams in the league, but the Celtics boast a wealth of offensive talent if they can put it together at the other end. Point guard Rajon Rondo (9.3 points, 10.5 assists, 7.4 rebounds) continues to stuff the stat sheet despite his scoring numbers being down slightly, and swingman Jeff Green (17.6 points) has developed into the go-to guy at the offensive end. Young big men Jared Sullinger (16 points, 8.4 rebounds) and Kelly Olynyk (10.6 points, 5.6 rebounds) are capable scorers in the post, though Olynyk sometimes sees his minutes limited because of his defensive limitations.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (9-6): Unlike the Celtics, Atlanta has a knack for finishing strong, averaging an NBA-best 27.5 points in the fourth quarter and topping 25 points in the final stanza in 12 of its 15 games. A big reason for that has been the strong play of point guard Jeff Teague (18 points, 7.2 assists), who leads a lineup in which all five starters average double-digit scoring. The frontcourt duo of Paul Millsap (16.7 points, 8.2 rebounds) and Al Horford (13.5 points, 6.5 rebounds) also has proven to be a handful for opponents.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Hawks SG Kyle Korver has made 30 consecutive free throws, 17 shy of Tom McMillen's franchise record set in 1978-79.
2. Boston is 4-6 when tied or leading at halftime and 0-4 when trailing at the break.
3. Atlanta has scored at least 90 points in every game, its longest streak to start the season since doing so in the first 34 contests in 1989-90.