Celtics Fall 1.5 Games Back of Cavaliers in Eastern Conference with Hawks Loss

The Boston Celtics were in golden position to seize the Eastern Conference's No. 1 seed less than 48 hours ago. They are now licking their wounds following a second straight loss. 

The Atlanta Hawks handled the Celtics at Philips Arena on Thursday, 123-116, a day after Boston lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers by 23 points. The Celtics are now 1.5 games back of the Cavs for the top seed at 50-29, while Atlanta temporarily stopped a nosedive that saw it lose nine of 11. It also moved into the No. 5 seed at 40-38.

The Hawks were up by as many as 20 in the second half and held on despite seeing their lead shrink to five down the stretch. Paul Millsap, Tim Hardaway Jr., Taurean Prince and Dennis Schroder spearheaded an impressive offensive effort:

Player	Points	Rebounds	Assists	Field Goals
Paul Millsap	26	12	4	8-of-15
Tim Hardaway Jr.	23	5	5	10-of-17
Taurean Prince	20	7	4	7-of-13
Dennis Schroder	18	4	5	7-of-14

Atlanta's 123 points was the biggest surprise of the contest, considering it started the game 28th in the league in offensive rating, per NBA.com. The Celtics were a solid 12th in defensive rating but couldn't keep up with the home team on that end of the floor.

Isaiah Thomas, who entered the game second in the league in fourth-quarter scoring, per NBA.com, carried the Boston offense with 35 points, nine of which came in the final 12 minutes. Jae Crowder chipped in 24 points, but Al Horford's disappearance proved critical.

The former Hawk was greeted with boos throughout the contest when he touched the ball and posted a mere four points and five rebounds on 1-of-8 shooting. Celtics reporter Marc D'Amico tweeted, "Not gonna dig through his career game logs, but tonight might be Al Horford's worst game as a pro."

His lackluster effort in the frontcourt helped contribute to Atlanta's 52-38 rebounding advantage.

The Hawks wasted little time setting the pace and built a 14-point lead in the first quarter behind a 12-0 run. Mike Conti of 92.9 The Game in Atlanta responded to the developments:

Boston pulled within one during the second quarter behind its three-point shooting (15 makes for the game) but seemingly forgot what a defensive stop was for extended stretches. The Hawks steamrolled their way to a 71-55 halftime lead with 53.2 percent shooting from the field and 18 points from Price.

Jay King of MassLive.com reacted to the Baylor rookie's red-hot first half:

Boston's defense was still lost in the third quarter when the Hawks pushed their advantage to 20. However, its three-point shooting kept it within striking distance, and the visitors pulled to within 99-89 entering the fourth after Marcus Smart's fifth make from downtown.

Brad Rowland of Peachtree Hoops wasn't surprised the 27.4 percent three-point shooter was doing his part against Atlanta:

Boston drew within single digits early in the fourth quarter but went ice cold with the contest hanging in the balance. In fact, it missed 15 of its first 18 shots from the field in the fourth after its offense kept it in the game during the first three quarters.

The Hawks failed to completely pull away, though, and Avery Bradley fouled out Kent Bazemore with a momentum-shifting slam:

Atlanta responded, as Schroder hit a critical three to push its lead from six to nine in the closing minutes. While a three from Thomas cut the deficit to five, the Celtics never drew closer than that and lost their second straight game.

Boston finishes the regular season against the Charlotte Hornets, Brooklyn Nets and Milwaukee Bucks. It is a combined 7-1 against those teams, so there is still a chance to make a late charge at the Cavaliers.

The Hawks could help Boston since their next two games come against Cleveland.

Postgame Reaction

Prince discussed his impressive outing, per Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution: "I've been stretching the floor since my junior year of college. I shot high percentages my last few years. It's all about spacing and giving the guys who are inside and the point guard opportunities to get in the lane. If it comes your way, knock down the shot."

Hawks head coach Mike Budenholzer said, "the first half was probably as good a first half as we've had," per Vivlamore.

Celtics head coach Brad Stevens looked at the silver lining, per King: "Sometimes you feel like you found something in a loss. I feel like we can build off this one."

Thomas echoed some of those sentiments, per the Celtics: "We're not gonna panic. We're just gonna keep fighting."