The Hawks found themselves in a mess Tuesday night, and one of their saviors came off the bench as Dennis Schroder not only scored 13 of his 15 points in the second half but played the entire four quarter – as potential All-Star point guard Jeff Teague sat on the bench.
A couple of unusual adjustments by Atlanta head coach Mike Budenholzer helped the Hawks rally to a 109-105 win in Philips Arena.
Schroder scored 10 points in the final period and grabbed a key late rebound as the Hawks (10-6) won their third straight game the hard way. They overcame a 22-point third quarter deficit.
Budenholzer suggested that Teague had done nothing wrong while scoring nine points with nine assists, but Schroder was too hot to come out.
“It’s just a little bit of a feel; Dennis was playing well,” Budenholzer said of his decision to play Schroder all 12 minutes in the final period. “I just stuck with him. Jeff has been unbelievable, and he will continue to be unbelievable. It’s just a gut feel.”
Boston (5-11) lit the Hawks up with 42 first-quarter points on the way to a 69-50 lead, and the Celtics led 74-52 early in the third quarter before Kyle Korver would go on to score 13 of his 24 points in the second half. He also participated with Schroder and Teague in key defensive adjustment.
Korver spent much of the second half defending Boston point guard Rajon Rondo, who had 14 of his 19 assists in the first half.
Teague and Schroder took turns defending Boston shooting guard Avery Bradley, who scored just four of his 18 points after halftime.
The Celtics shot a whopping 61.4 percent (27-of-44) on the way to a 69-50 halftime lead. In the second half, they shot 35 percent (14-of-40). Atlanta’s increased pressure after halftime also triggered 19 points off Boston’s 12 second-half turnovers.
“[Rondo] was kind of picking us apart kind of like a quarterback with 14 assists at halftime so we just wanted to try a different look,” Budenholzer said. “Bradley was [hot in the first half] and we wanted to put somebody a little quicker on him.”
The Hawks turned the game with a 28-11 run to close the third quarter. Korver scored 10 points in that stretch. After trading the lead a few times in the fourth quarter, they took the lead for good, at 94-92, on Schroder’s jumper with 7:32 left.
Paul Millsap had 19 points, seven assists, six rebounds and three steals. The lasting memory Tuesday night, though, was the sight of Schroder turning in his fourth straight double-digit scoring game.
He was everywhere late, snatching a late rebound off of a Jeff Green miss with 14 seconds remaining when Atlanta’s lead was just 107-105.
The second-year pro quickly passed, and Kent Bazemore streaked down court for a layup. Boston missed a last-second trey.
“Dennis has grown so much mentally,” Korver said. “He’s going to be a super player.”
