This was not the way the Hawks wanted to enter the All-Star break.
Little can put a damper on the best start in franchise history. However, this one will sting for the entire week respite.
Evan Turner scored with 0.2 seconds left, giving the Celtics their one and only lead of the game in an 89-88 victory over the Hawks at TD Garden Wednesday night. The Hawks have 11 losses – and three of them have come at the buzzer. What made the loss especially painful is the fact the Hawks led by as many as 18 points.
Coach and players cited a lack of focus for the defeat.
“Lack of focus, simple as that,” Paul Millsap said. “We can look at the four quarters and say turnovers, missed shots, this and that. The game kind of turned when we gave them a little confidence. When you give a team like that confidence, they are going to be tough to beat. Give them credit. They hung in there and continued to fight and the outcome was good for them.”
The Hawks (43-11, 18-8 road) finished a three-game road trip 1-2 and lost for the fifth time in the past 41 games. The loss snapped a franchise record of 13 straight wins against the Eastern Conference, including seven straight on the road.
There will be much to celebrate about the first part of the season. However, players in a subdued post-game locker room said this one hurt.
The Celtics outscored the Hawks 28-16 in the fourth quarter, aided by six Hawks turnovers. There were moments when the Hawks’ frustration was clear on their faces and with their body language. The Hawks lost despite holding the Celtics to 32 percent shooting.
“Defense was there, man,” Millsap said. “Defense was there. Full commitment, full focus, wasn’t quite there. Something to learn. A year and a half and we are still learning, still learning how to close games, still learning how to keep leads. It’s a positive thing going forward. It’s a lesson that I guess needed to be taught. I guarantee we’ll learn from it.”
Al Horford led the Hawks with a game-high 22 points and 12 rebounds. The Hawks also got double-digit scoring from DeMarre Carroll (14), Millsap (11) and Jeff Teague (10).
The Celtics (20-31) enter the break having won four of their past five games. Jared Sullinger had 17 points and 15 rebounds. He scored 11 of the Celtics’ 13 points at one point in the third quarter as they Hawks’ lead began to dwindle. It wouldn’t disappear until Turner’s final driving layup.
“When (Celtics coach Brad Stevens) said I could drive it, I was just hoping Avery (Bradley) wouldn’t be mad at me,” Turner said of the final possession.
The Hawks are 37-2 in games they hold a lead of 10 or more points at any point during a game this season. The other blown double-digit lead loss was the last-second defeat at the Hornets. The Hawks also lost to the Magic on a buzzer beater.
The Hawks led by as many as 18 points in the first half and took a 49-34 lead into intermission against the woeful-shooting Celtics.
The Celtics missed their first seven shots of the game and finished the first quarter shooting 18.5 percent from the floor (5 of 27, 1 of 11 from 3-point range) for 13 points. The Hawks built a double-digit lead, 13-2, just 4:22 into the game. It didn’t get much better in the second quarter for the Celtics as they shot 31.8 percent from the floor (7 of 22, 3 of 7 from 3-point range) for 21 points.
The Hawks finished the first half shooting 51.3 percent (20 of 39) as they opened the sizable lead.
It wouldn’t last.
“It’s a 48-minute game,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “They played better for more of those 48 minutes than us. I think we lost some of our discipline, some of the things that we emphasize and do every day. But you always give your opponent credit. There is a reason as we weren’t as disciplined as we needed to be.”
The Hawks will return from the All-Star break with a 6-1/2-game lead over the Raptors in the Eastern Conference. Those teams will meet in the first game back on Feb. 20.
“(Budenholzer) told us we have to be more focused,” Carroll said. “When we have a team on the ropes we have to learn. We’ll learn from it. We had a good 54 games. He told us to get away from basketball, enjoy it and get ready to get back at it.”
