Hawks soar past slumping Celtics
Boston’s hopes of pipping Cleveland for top spot in the Eastern Conference suffered a blow on Thursday as the Celtics slumped to defeat against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Celtics, comprehensively beaten by the Cavaliers on Wednesday, slid to another costly defeat as Paul Millsap inspired Atlanta to a 123-116 win at Philips Arena in Georgia.
Millsap scored 26 points and 12 rebounds as Atlanta improved to 40-38, a half-game ahead of the Milwaukee Bucks in the battle for fifth place.
But the defeat put a serious dent in Boston’s chances of overhauling the Cavaliers at the top of the table.
The Celtics are now 50-29, lying in second spot behind reigning NBA Finals champions Cleveland who are 51-27 and now primed to lock up first place.
In other results, Chicago boosted its post-season hopes with a 102-90 victory over Philadelphia, while Indiana trounced Milwaukee to likewise tie the Bulls at seventh with 39-40 cards, dropping the idle Miami Heat to ninth at 38-40 in the tight Eastern Conference race. Orlando turned back Brooklyn, 115-107; and Washington held off New York, 106-103. The Pacers moved to 39-40 after a 104-89 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.
Back in Atlanta, Millsap’s points and rebounds total marked a 19th doubledouble of the season, and confirmed his successful return from a left knee problem.
Millsap also got backing from Tim Hardaway Jr with 23 points as well as a career-high 20 points from Taurean Prince and 18 from Dennis Schroder.
Boston star Isaiah Thomas led the game scoring with 35 points while Jae Crowder had 24.
Elsewhere Thursday, the Washington Wizards claimed a close win over the New York Knicks to tie for third spot in the East.
Washington point guard John Wall warned however that the Wizards would need to improve their defense if they were to prosper in the playoffs.
“Our defense is terrible right now,” Wall said. “If we think we’re going to go to the playoffs with this defense, we’ll have an early exit.
“We have to figure that out,” he added after a win which lifted Washington to 48-31, level with Toronto, who had a rest day on Thursday.