Atlanta forward Mike Scott came off the bench to score 17 points,
leading five Hawks in double figures. Kent Bazemore, Jeff Teague,
Kyle Korver and Paul Millsap all made big shots for the Hawks, who
pestered the Celtics into 19 turnovers.
Atlanta lead the best-of-seven series 3-2 with Game 6 to come on
Thursday in Boston.
Celtics point guard Isaiah Thomas, who was booed relentlessly every
time he touched the ball, suffered through his worst game of the
series and tweaked an ankle in the fourth.
Thomas finished with seven points on 3-of-12 shooting from the floor
before limping off the court and back to the locker room with 10
minutes to play and the outcome long decided.
Throughout the back-and-forth series, the Hawks have grabbed big
leads after slow starts by the Celtics. But Boston have had a knack
at coming from behind, much like they did in the second half of a
Game 4 win on Sunday in Boston.
However, there was no coming back from the barrage the Hawks dropped
on the Celtics in the second and third quarters -- and especially
not with Thomas struggling.
Midway through the second quarter, Atlanta was ice cold and had made
only 6 of 34 shots from the field. But the Celtics, in part because
of turnover issues and Thomas' early scoring woes, did not take full
advantage. Their biggest lead was 29-19 before the Hawks started to
heat up.
Bazemore hit three nothing-but-net 3-pointers, fueling a 28-10
Atlanta run to close the half.
The Hawks led 47-39 at intermission, despite an 0-of-8 shooting
performance by forward Al Horford.
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Thomas did not score in the first half for the Celtics, who turned
the ball over nine times in the first half and 20 times for the
game.
Boston cut into Atlanta's lead early in the third quarter before
things got out of hand. Korver, Scott, Millsap and Dennis Schroder
hit triples during a 2 1/2-minute stretch that electrified Philips
Arena and put the Hawks in complete control with a 22-point
advantage.
The Celtics had no answer and now must find a way to regroup heading
back to Boston. Evan Turner had 15 points and Jae Crowder and Marcus
Smart each added 10 points.
Scott hit 7 of 9 shots from the field, including two 3-pointers.
Bazemore and Teague each finished with 15 points in a balanced
effort that saw the Hawks rack up 30 assists on 42 field goals.
(Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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