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 The Celtics blew a 12-point fourth-quarter lead and trailed by four in overtime before outshooting the Hawks from beyond the arc in overtime.
Jeff Green, Paul Pierce and Terry all hit 3-pointers in the OT and the Celtics held the Hawks without a point for the final 1:20 to clinch Boston's fifth straight win.
Pierce finished with 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. Kevin Garnett had 17 points and eight rebounds and Terry scored 19, 11 more than Atlanta's reserves combined.
Josh Smith scored 32 points and Jeff Teague had 26 points and nine assists for the Hawks, who outscored the Celtics 48-32 in the paint.
Al Horford added 22 points and Devin Harris scored 12 for Atlanta. Four starters scored in double figures for the Hawks, but only two other players scored at all for Atlanta in its fourth loss in five games.
The Hawks did make it a thrilling finish in a game Boston appeared to have in hand after a 10-0 run early in the fourth quarter. Atlanta still had time and didn't panic, using a 13-4 run to get back in it and force overtime.
Kyle Korver's 3-pointer with 1:31 left tied it at 92-all and was just the second field goal by a reserve for the Hawks. Pierce answered with a jumper, then Smith set up Horford on an alley-oop dunk to tie it up again.
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The Hawks led 98-96 in overtime when Green got lucky for the Celtics with a 3-pointer that bounced high off the rim initially, but somehow stayed on target and went in after two more fortunate bounces and the Celtics had their first lead of overtime at 99-98. Smith answered right away with a 3-pointer, which Pierce matched with 1:37 left to put the Celtics ahead 102-101.
It was tied at 102 when Terry continued the 3-point frenzy on a 25-footer with 35 seconds remaining.
Atlanta turned it over on a bad pass by Smith and Terry drew a foul, sealing the game with a pair of free throws.
NOTES: The Hawks were on the road for the seventh time in eight games. ... Pierce scored 11 in the first quarter as the Celtics opened the game 11 for 19 (58 percent). ... Terry's 3-pointer with four seconds left in the second quarter gave the Celtics a 52-47 halftime lead. ... Anthony Tolliver was the only Atlanta reserve to score in the first half, finishing with five points. ... New England Patriots tight end Rob Gronkowski sat courtside and received a standing ovation when he was shown on the overhead monitor early in the fourth quarter.
[Associated
Press]
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