By GEORGE HENRY
Associated Press
ATLANTA (AP) - Rajon Rondo had 14 points, 11
rebounds and 10 assists, and the Boston Celtics rallied to beat the
Atlanta Hawks 89-81 on Saturday night.
Paul Pierce scored 17 of his 26 points in the third
quarter as the Celtics erased a 19-point deficit and went on to
consecutive wins for the first time since late November against Oklahoma
City and Orlando.
Boston, which beat Indiana 94-75 on Friday night, had lost four straight road games.
Lou Williams scored 21 of his 28 points in the
first half for Atlanta, which has lost two straight. Jeff Teague added
17 points, and Josh Smith, who was 2 for 12 in the second half, finished
with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
The Hawks got off to a fast start, then fell apart
in the third quarter as Boston began doubling ballhandlers on the
perimeter and clamping down on Atlanta inside.
The Celtics trailed by 19 with 6:20 left in the
second, but went up 61-60 on Jared Sullinger's alley-oop layup with 3:47
left in the third. It was their first lead since the game's first
minute.
Boston opened the third with a 14-1 run to pull
within one. Hawks coach Larry Drew, whose team missed its first five
shots from the field to begin the second half, called timeout at the
7:29 mark, but Teague lost the ball out of the bounds on the ensuing
possession.
Atlanta was just 2 for 14 from the field in the third and trailed 71-62 heading to the final period.
Kevin Garnett's fast-break layup with 8:53
remaining gave the Celtics their first double-digit lead at 79-68.
Garnett finished with 14 points.
Williams outscored the Celtics 13-10 by the 5:47
mark of the first and hit his first seven shots from the field. His 16th
point came on a layup for Atlanta's first double-digit lead at 23-12
late in the first.
But the Hawks could not overcome the absence of
injured shooting guards Devin Harris and Anthony Morrow, and it hardly
helped that Kyle Korver fouled out with 6:37 remaining and DeShawn
Stevenson played only 13 minutes because of sore knees.
NOTES: Korver fouled out for the first time in 27
games this season and finished with nine points. ... Atlanta scored 31
points in the first quarter, tying for the highest by a Boston opponent
and the most since the Celtics opened the season Oct. 30 at Miami. ...
The Hawks' nine points in the third were a season low by a Boston
opponent. ... Harris missed his ninth straight game with a sore left
foot. ... Morrow was sidelined for the fifth straight game because of a
strained right hip.
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