Where to begin?
There was a litany that went wrong in the fourth quarter as the Hawks failed to hold a 12-point lead and fell to the Celtics 94-87 Saturday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks:
* Were outscored 30-13 and finished 5 of 23 (21.7 percent) in the quarter;
* Made just two field goals in the final 9:30 of the game;
*Allowed the Celtics to finish the game on a 24-6 run;
* Gave up 14 free-throw attempts and took just two.
It added up to one very bad loss.
“It is what it is, man,” Jeff Teague said. “We gave them a gift. Merry Christmas.”
After a back-and-forth first half, the Hawks were in need of a spark. They got one in the most unusual way. Too bad it didn’t last.
Holding a one-point third-quarter lead, DeMarre Carroll raced down court for a layup after a steal. He was broadsided by the Celtics’ Jared Sullinger as he went to the basket and words were exchanged. Carroll said after the game he injured his back on the play. As the flagrant foul was being reviewed by officials, Al Horford gathered his team and implored them to ‘Wake up!’
They did – but only for a while.
The Hawks went on a 9-1 run following the incident. They had a double-digit lead before the let yet another fourth-quarter lead slip away.
“I felt like we did a good job (Friday holding a lead),” Al Horford said. “Today we were just flat in the fourth. I take blame on the offensive end. I missed a lot of shots I normally make, easy baskets around the rim. That’s on me. It’s just disappointing. This is a game we felt we should have won.
“There is no way around it. I’m just frustrated. I feel like I could have done a lot more. It’s going to haunt me.”
The Hawks (8-6, 4-2 home) had a two-game win streak snapped. They have not won more than two in a row this season.
Horford led the Hawks with 18 points. Jeff Teague (13), Paul Millsap (12) and Mike Scott (10) were the other double-digit scorers. Teague had a double-double with 10 assists. He had eight of his points in the third quarter when the Hawks appeared to take control. The performance came one night after he had 14 third-quarter points in a win over the Pistons.
Kyle Korver extended his streak to 87 consecutive games with a 3-pointer. He is now two shy of Dana Barros’ NBA record.
The Celtics (5-10, 3-6 road) snapped a six-game losing streak. Brandon Bass led six double-digit scorers with 17 points.
For the game, the Celtics were 24 of 31 from the free-throw line. The Hawks were 10 of 12. Several players refused to comment following the game on the disparity. Coach Mike Budenholzer credited the Celtics aggressiveness, especially in the final quarter.
“It’s a tough loss,” Budenholzer said. “I think the free-throw line and the aggressiveness of Boston in the fourth quarter was the difference in the game. For the game it’s 31-12 from the free-throw line. That’s going to make it a difficult game to win. I think we need to learn from that and be more aggressive and get to the paint, get the basket, get to the free-throw line. It’s a tough lesson to learn. It’s a tough way to learn it.”
The Hawks held a 53-49 lead at halftime. The Celtics led by as many as six points in the first quarter. The Hawks answered in the second quarter and led by as many as five points.
The highlight of the first half was Millsap’s thunderous dunk over the Sullinger in the second quarter. Millsap easily slipped past Vitor Faverani along the baseline. As Sullinger stepped in, Millsap delivered with his right hand for a sure-to-be highlight.
“I think it was one of those games where in the fourth quarter we were complacent,” Lou Williams said. “Maybe we felt like they were going to give us the game and they took it. You have to give credit where credit is due. They made shots, we didn’t. We didn’t get stops, they did. They won the game.”
The Hawks host the Magic Tuesday. It is the start of another stretch of four games in five days.
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