Quality Win Ends Losing Streak

Finally!  The Celtics snapped a 6-game losing streak with a win on the road over the Atlanta Hawks tonight.  And they did it after coming back from a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter.  Even with the loss, the Hawks have the third best record in the Eastern Conference and are a tough team to beat on their home court.  So this is a quality win for the Celtics.  The Celtics did it with tough defense, holding the Hawks to 38.7% shooting while the Celtics shot 45.8%.  Surprisingly, the Celtics still won even though they lost the turnover battle turning the ball over 18 times to the Hawks 8 turnovers.  It was a tight game throughout the first half with the Celtics and Hawks trading the lead.  In the second half, the Hawks led most of the way and opened a 10-point lead over the Celtics in the fourth quarter.  But instead of collapsing, the Celtics found the ability to turn the game around by tightening their defense and making their shots down the stretch.  It was nice to see the Celts maintain their composure late in the game.  Brandon Bass led the Celts with 17 points while five other Celtics scored in double digits.  Jordan Crawford each a double double (16 points, 10 assists and only 4 turnovers) and made clutch shots and free throws the close out the game.

It was also refreshing to see the Celtics play well in the second half after their loss the night before to Indiana Pacers when the Celtics led at halftime, but played a sloppy second half to lose the game.  Tonight's win was in many way better than their win over the Miami Heat, where they stole a game due to some miscues by the Heat late in the game.  Tonight, the Celtics found the ability to play a quality second half and maintain their composure after regaining the lead late in the game.  This was a deliberate team win that didn't depend on a last second 3-point shot to win the game.