Thomas steadies Celtics, Horford triumphant in return to Atlanta

ATLANTA — Isaiah Thomas scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, Al Horford made a triumphant return and the Boston Celtics snapped the Atlanta Hawks' seven-game winning streak with a 103-101 victory Friday night.

Paul Millsap and Tim Hardaway Jr. each had 23 points for Atlanta. The Hawks had won 12 of 16 to move into fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

But the third-place Celtics hit 17 3-pointers and got a season-high 26 points from reserve forward Kelly Olynyk to push past a Hawks team that missed too many open looks from the perimeter.

Horford, a fan favorite during his nine seasons in Atlanta, was booed many times throughout the night after leaving the team as a free agent last summer. He received a standing ovation, though, and waved happily to the crowd after the Hawks showed a brief video tribute between the first and second quarters.

Horford finished with 10 points, six rebounds and six assists in 35 minutes.

Thomas was unstoppable in the closing minutes, hitting a 15-footer and a 3-pointer before knocking down a 19-footer just with 2 seconds remaining to make it 103-101. Millsap missed a jumper at the buzzer.

Boston blistered Atlanta in the third, using a 20-5 run to go up 77-57 on Terry Rozier's 21-footer.

Hardaway's short jumper trimmed the lead to 91-85 with 4:24 remaining, and Mike Dunleavy, making his Atlanta debut for the first time since last week's trade, rattled in a corner 3 to pull the Hawks within two at the 2:12 mark.

The Celtics hit eight of its first 11 beyond the arc to take a 28-16 lead at the 2:33 mark of the first, but missed their next 10 attempts on 3s to help Atlanta force a 42-all tie on a pair of free throws by Millsap.

Jae Crowder added 18 points, including four 3s, for Boston.

Associated Press