Celtics-Hawks Preview
Consecutive games against the same opponent produced vastly different results for the Boston Celtics. The Atlanta Hawks have been more consistent of late, though not in a positive way.
The Hawks enter Tuesday night's game with the visiting Celtics having lost four of five, a stretch that began with a 106-93 defeat in Boston on Nov. 13 that coach Mike Budenholzer missed due to a family emergency.
Budenholzer wasn't around for long in Atlanta's most recent defeat, getting ejected midway through the second quarter of Saturday's 109-97 loss at Cleveland for making contact with referee Ben Taylor while arguing a call.
The action drew Budenholzer a $25,000 fine from the NBA but not a suspension, as the league deemed the contact to be incidental.
Atlanta shot a season-low 37.2 percent and trailed the Cavaliers by as many as 26. The Hawks were especially dominated inside, getting outscored 44-30 in the paint and outrebounded by a 51-38 margin.
"They really got hot and they were getting a lot of easy fast break points and getting to the basket," center Al Horford said. "When you're doing those things, it's kind of hard to stay in the game."
The Celtics also struggled greatly on the defensive end last time out, allowing Brooklyn to shoot 50.6 percent in Sunday's 111-101 loss that dropped them to 0-5 when surrendering 100 or more points. They're 7-1 when holding opponents under that total, including Friday's 120-95 home rout of the Nets in which Brooklyn shot 39.3 percent.
"They did a great job attacking us, let's put it that way," coach Brad Stevens said after Sunday's game. "We were not in their vicinity sometimes.''
Boston was playing without one of its top perimeter defenders in guard Marcus Smart, expected to miss at least two weeks after injuring his lower left leg in Friday's matchup.
The backcourt hasn't suffered offensively of late, with Avery Bradley and Isaiah Thomas each finishing with 27 points in Sunday's defeat.
Bradley finished 7 of 14 from 3-point range and is 15 of 29 over a torrid four-game stretch in which he's averaged 21.8 points.
"I think it's all about confidence and repetition," he told the Celtics' official website. "Being able to get those reps up and believing that it's going in every single time."
Bradley missed the teams' previous meeting with a lower leg bruise, but Thomas compiled 10 assists and 23 points, including 11 to help Boston outscore the Hawks 35-24 in the third quarter.
Jared Sullinger added 10 points and 10 rebounds for his third double-double in five matchups against the Hawks. He had 22 points and nine rebounds in a 109-105 loss in Boston's last visit to Philips Arena on Dec. 2.
Atlanta's Jeff Teague (ankle) returned from a three-game absence to score 13 points in 26 minutes off the bench against Cleveland. Backup center Tiago Splitter will not play, however, after injuring his hip on Saturday, and forward Kent Bazemore could miss a fourth straight due to a right ankle sprain.