Celtics at Hawks
The race for the third spot in the Eastern Conference intensifies when the Boston Celtics travel to meet the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday. The teams enter tied for third place in the East, a game ahead of both the Miami Heat and the Charlotte Hornets.
The Celtics host both the Heat and Hornets to end the season and enter the stretch with four straight wins after Friday's 124-109 rout of Milwaukee at home. Tyler Zeller tied a career high with 26 points in the victory after producing a total of 19 points in his previous eight games. The Hawks will be playing their home finale before visiting Cleveland and Washington to close out the regular season. They have won 14 of their last 18 games overall and nine of 11 at home, where they outlasted Toronto 95-87 on Thursday.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CSN New England (Boston), FSN Southeast (Atlanta)
ABOUT THE CELTICS (47-32): Zeller's effort ended a remarkable run by All-Star guard Isaiah Thomas, who had led Boston in scoring in a franchise-record 17 straight games, scoring at least 20 points each time. Thomas still had 20 points on 7-of-9 shooting as the Celtics shot 56.4 percent and produced their best scoring output since Feb. 10. Evan Turner returned from a one-game absence due to an eye abrasion to produce nine assists, matching fellow reserve Marcus Smart for the team lead.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (47-32): Jeff Teague scored 23 points against Toronto and is averaging the same amount over a five-game span. He was one of seven Atlanta players to score in double figures and had two of his team's 12 3-pointers. Paul Millsap recorded 13 points, 14 rebounds and five steals and is averaging 19.7 points and 8.3 rebounds in three games against the Celtics.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Celtics C Kelly Olynyk hit all five of his shots - including his only 3-pointer - in a 16-point effort versus Milwaukee.
2. Thomas needs seven assists to join Larry Bird and John Havlicek as the only Celtics with 1,600 points and 500 assists in a single season.
3. Hawks SF Kent Bazemore (knee) missed the win over Toronto and is considered day-to-day.