The Hawks took the Celtics’ best shot.
It was the counter punch that got them.
The Celtics used an 8-2 run midway through the fourth quarter, aided by two three-point plays, to secure a 111-103 victory in Game 3 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night at TD Garden. The run broke a 96-96 tie and gave the Celtics the lead for good.
The Hawks lead the best-of-seven series 2-1.
The Celtics led by as many as 20 points before the Hawks stormed back and took a lead late in the third quarter. The stage was set for the late dramatics.
Celtics All-Star point guard Isaiah Thomas broke out — in a big way — with a career playoff- and game-high 42 points. He had only one assist as Boston took control of the game from the start. His deep 3-pointer with 1:53 left gave the Celtics a 108-101 lead.
“They played well,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “They came out with a heck of a first quarter. Isaiah Thomas had a heck of a game. They made a lot of big plays, big shots. It’s hard to come back when you are down 17 in a quarter. We got back to our footing in the second quarter, defensively got better, offensively got better.”
The Celtics replaced two starters, with Evan Turner replacing Marcus Smart at shooting guard and Jonas Jerebko replacing Jared Sullinger at center. Celtics coach Brad Stevens noted before the game that the starting unit played a total of 33 possessions together in the regular season.
The Hawks were led by Jeff Teague with 23 points. Kent Bazemore scored 20 points and Dennis Schroder, questionable before the game with a left ankle sprain, added 20. Kyle Korver had 17 points with five 3-pointers, four in the second half.
The Celtics held the 20-point lead in the first half after a white-hot start in front of a fired-up home crowd.
The game featured two technical fouls (Schroder and Thomas) and three Flagrant I fouls (Schroder, Paul Millsap and Jared Sullinger).
The trouble began when Schroder and Thomas exchanged words after a foul and were assessed technical fouls. Television replays showed Thomas striking Schroder in the head.
“I’m not going to let nobody slap me in my face,” Schroder said. “I told him that. If you want to play like that, we’ll play like that. I was mad.”
Budenholzer said he expects the NBA to review the play.
The Hawks got as close as nine points late in the half. They appeared to be in big trouble when the Celtics opened the third quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 64-45 lead. The Hawks answered with a 12-0 run to trim their deficit to seven points.
All of a sudden it was a game.
The comeback was complete when Schroder completed a three-point play on a layup to give the Hawks a 78-77 lead with 1:21 left in the third quarter, their first advantage since 4-3 early in the game. The Celtics took a one-point edge, 79-78, into the final quarter after a Paul Millsap turnover under the basket with 0.1 seconds left.
The teams went back and forth in the fourth quarter, trading big shot after big shot to shot to set up the final dramatics.
Millsap, the Hawks’ leading scorer in the regular season, again struggled, with just eight points on 3-of-9 shooting.
“I don’t like some of the shots I’m getting,” Millsap said before the game. “But I’ve got to change that. I’ve got to do a better job of getting to the open spots. Give them credit. They are doing a good job. We have guys who are scoring. They are doing a great job of picking up that dip from myself. That’s why we are built like this.”
Game 4 of the series in Sunday in Boston.
