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 Korver hit five 3-pointers, four coming in the first seven minutes
of the game, to put the Celtics in another big early hole. He
entered the game having made only three of his last 19 3-point
attempts, including an 0-for-7 performance in Game 1.
Atlanta led by as many as 21 in the first half Tuesday. They built a
19-point lead in the first half of Game 1, before fending off a
Celtics rally in a one-point win. There was no serious rally in Game
2.
Atlanta's Al Horford scored 17 points and blocked five shots, and
Jeff Teague scored 13 points and had six assists.
The series shifts to Boston on Friday, with the Hawks leading 2-0.
The Celtics were without their best two-way player in Avery Bradley,
who injured his hamstring in Game 1 and is expected to miss the rest
of the series. Marcus Smart started in place of Bradley and
struggled. The second-year guard didn't score until the fourth
quarter and finished with three points on 1-for-11 shooting.
 Boston point guard Isaiah Thomas, who scored 27 points in Game 1,
finished with only 16 Tuesday, half of those points coming in the
fourth quarter after the game was out of reach. Amir Johnson added
14 points and eight rebounds for the Celtics.
Atlanta jumped out to a 24-3 lead that featured four Korver
3-pointers in the first seven minutes. Boston shot 13.6 percent from
the floor in the first quarter and finished with seven points, the
lowest-scoring quarter in the franchise's playoff history.
Atlanta cooled off in an ugly second quarter, allowing Boston to
chip away at the lead. The Celtics got within 10, 36-26, on a
Johnson bucket. But Korver answered with another 3-pointer, and
Boston went scoreless in the final five minutes of the half. The
Hawks took a 43-28 lead into halftime.
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Other than Atlanta's sizzling start, the game was sloppy, bordering
on hard to watch at times. Each team turned it over 10 times in the
second quarter. The Hawks went ice-cold from the floor, connecting
on 13 of 43 field goals in the second and third quarters.
With eight minutes to play, Atlanta's starting forwards Paul Millsap
and Kent Bazemore were a combined 3 of 24 from the field. And the
Hawks still led by 19, after veteran Thabo Sefolosha hit a corner
3-pointer that put Atlanta up 72-53 with seven minutes left. The
Hawks shot only 39 percent for the game, but connected on 11
3-pointers.
The Celtics were dismal and looked dejected down the stretch. Coach
Brad Sevens sat stoically on the bench, his chin rested in his hand,
watching his team shoot 31.8 percent from the floor, including 5 of
28 on 3-pointers.
Boston has fallen behind big in their last three games, dating back
to the regular-season finale against the Miami Heat. The Celtics
rallied back from 26 down to beat the Heat that night, but have not
been able to overcome the big holes they've dug themselves against
the Hawks to start the playoffs.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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