BOSTON (AP) — Trae Young had 40 points and eight assists, and the Atlanta Hawks snapped a four-game losing streak with a 122-114 victory over the Boston Celtics on Wednesday night.
Clint Capela finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds to help Atlanta earn its first victory over Boston since April 8, 2018, ending a seven-game losing streak. John Collins added 20 points and six rebounds.
The Hawks, who shot a season-high 57% from the field, took a 90-81 lead into the fourth quarter. Boston rallied to cut it to 94-91, but Atlanta responded with an 8-2 run get it back up to 102-93 with 6:33 left.
The Celtics tried to employ an intentional foul strategy on Capela. But he was able to connect on three of his next seven free throw attempts, followed by Young’s 3-pointer to make it 108-95.
Boston made one final push, getting within 118-113 with 13 seconds left after Jayson Tatum was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three free throws. But Collins connected on four free throws the rest of the way to close it out.
Tatum had 35 points for Celtics, who have lost five out of seven.
With Kemba Walker not playing in back-to-back games right now following a preseason procedure on his left knee, Javonte Green took his place in the starting lineup.
But it was Tatum who took on the primary role of guarding Young at the outset.
While it gave Young with a bigger defender to contend with, it didn’t stop him from facilitating action when Atlanta had the ball. The results were the same when others, including Green and Payton Pritchard switched onto him.
Young ended the first half with 15 points and four assists, pacing an offense that shot 60% (24 of 40) from the field and scored 40 points in the paint to take a 62-56 lead into halftime.
Boston wasn’t crisp at all offensively, turning it over 10 times.
TIP-INS
Hawks: Played without Bogdan Bogdanovic (right knee), Rajon Rondo (back). D’Andre Hunter (right knee surgery rehab) and Kris Dunn (right ankle surgery rehab).
Celtics: Finished with 15 turnovers. … Walker (load management), Marcus Smart (left calf tear), Daniel Theis (sprained right index finger) and Romeo Langford (right wrist surgery rehab) all sat;
BABY WATCH
Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce missed Wednesday’s game to be with his wife, who is awaiting the birth of their second child. Assistant coach Nate McMillan is serving as head coach in Pierce’s absence.
Pierce flew back to Atlanta after the Hawks’ loss to New York on Monday night. He is also expected to miss Friday’s game against Boston as well.
UP NEXT
The teams will matchup again on Friday night.
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