The Atlanta Hawks (16 - 12) defeated the Boston Celtics (14 - 13) by a score of 109 - 101, in Boston on Friday. This was a huge win for the Hawks and a huge loss for the Celtics. Atlanta was ninth in the East, while Boston was tenth heading into this game. With the win the Hawks find themselves back in the top eight, while Boston is now one game farther out of the top eight. The Celtics have now lost three straight. It was back and forth the whole way. Boston made it a two - point game with 2:32 left in the fourth but Atlanta turned up the heat to seal the deal down the stretch. The Hawks shared the ball well, with six players scoring in double digits, however they shot a poor 4 - 20 from long range as a team. Big Al Horford was huge for the Hawks with a double - double consisting of 21 points and 10 rebounds, along with three blocked shots and two assists, in 35 minutes. Fellow frontcourt presence Paul Millsap dropped 20 points (6 - 13 FG, 8 - 10 FT), along with eight rebounds, four assists and two steals. Dennis Schroder led Atlanta in scoring with 22 points (8 - 15 FG, 2 - 4 3Pt, 4 - 4 FT) in 28 minutes off the bench. He also dished five assists and grabbed four steals. Isaiah Thomas was electric as usual for the Celtics. Thomas led all scorers with 29 points on 6 - 12 shooting including 3 - 5 from beyond the arc but most notably shot 14 - 15 from the free throw line. Jae Crowder had one of his better games this season, finishing with 24 points (8 - 13 FG, 3 - 7 3Pt, 5 - 5 FT) and 10 rebounds in 36 minutes. The only other player to score double digits for Boston was Jared Sullinger, who finished with 10 points (4 - 7 FG), along with eight rebounds, three assists and one steal, in 24 minutes. The Celtics will get a bit of a rest before hosting Minnesota on Monday. They will need to get back in the win column to stay competitive in the over - crowded East. The Hawks will have to stay on their A-game as they head to Orlando to face - off against the gritty Magic on Sunday.
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 "PlayerStat(G,'Al Horford') has 2 Assists ,has 3 Blocks ,has 21 Defensive rebounds ,has 10 3-pointers attempted ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Dennis Schroder') has 5 Assists ,has 4 Blocks ,has 2 Defensive rebounds ,has 15 3-pointers attempted ,has 8 3-pointers made ,has 4 Field goals attempted ,has 4 Field goals made ,has 28 Free throws attempted ,has 22 Free throws made ,has 4 Minutes played ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jae Crowder') has 7 Assists ,has 3 Blocks ,has 13 Defensive rebounds ,has 8 3-pointers attempted ,has 5 3-pointers made ,has 5 Field goals attempted ,has 1 Field goals made ,has 24 Free throws attempted ,has 10 Free throws made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Jared Sullinger') has 3 Assists ,has 7 Blocks ,has 4 Defensive rebounds ,has 24 3-pointers attempted ,has 10 3-pointers made ,has 8 Field goals attempted ,has 1 Field goals made ."
 "PlayerStat(G,'Isaiah Thomas') has 1 Assists ,has 29 Blocks ,has 1 Defensive rebounds ."]