Boston Sports

ATLANTA (Sports Network) ― Tyronn Lue scored 26 points and dished out 10 assists, leading the Atlanta Hawks over the Boston Celtics, 104-96, at Philips Arena.

Zaza Pachulia poured in 22 points and grabbed 12 rebounds, Marvin Williams scored 21 points, and Shelden Williams had 14 for Atlanta, which won for just the second time in its last 10 games and played without the services of Josh Smith. The forward was suspended two games by the team on Monday following a verbal confrontation with head coach Mike Woodson. Royal Ivey also scored 11 for the Hawks.

"It's just fun being out there and getting a chance to play," said Ivey. "I treasure it and try to take advantage of it. I knocked down some key shots tonight, I played within myself and we pulled out the win."

Gerald Green scored a career-high 33 points for the Celtics, who have lost four straight and five in a row on the road. The team was once again playing without Paul Pierce and second-leading scorer, Al Jefferson. Pierce has missed six straight games with a sore left elbow, while Jefferson has missed the last four with a bruised left knee.

"It really doesn't matter to me," said Green of his career-high. "We still lost. At the end of the day, I'm a ball player and I'm still trying to win ball games."

Leon Powe poured in 19 points and had seven rebounds, while Rajon Rondo finished with 16 points and dished out eight assists for the Celtics.

The Celtics trailed just once in the first quarter, when Williams' hook shot gave Atlanta an 18-17 edge at 4:20. Boston quickly went back on top and closed out the stanza on an 11-6 run for a 28-24 lead.

Boston took control in the second and held a 42-33 lead on Kevinn Pinkney's jumper at 7:38. Pachulia briefly interrupted the 14-7 Celtics' run with a short jumper of his own for the Hawks, who trailed by 13 with 4:55 left in the half.

The teams traded buckets over the final three minutes, with Boston holding a 59-51 at the break.

Atlanta reversed its misfortunes in the third quarter, as a pair of Lue free throws were followed by a Solomon Jones dunk to spark a 15-7 run by the Hawks. A jumper and a layup by Pachulia on consecutive possessions tied the game at 66, and Williams' shot off the glass gave Atlanta a 68-66 lead at 5:54.

Boston closed out the third on a 12-6 burst and led 78-76 heading to the fourth.

Eight consecutive points by Lue helped the Hawks pull away in the fourth. With the game knotted at 88, the veteran guard made two from the line, then followed with three consecutive jumpers to put Atlanta on top, 95-90, with 4:30 remaining. Ivey followed with a bucket to extend the cushion to seven, while a Williams' jumper pushed it to 99-90 with 2:58 to play.

The Celtics never got closer than eight the rest of the way.

"You've got to give these guys a lot of credit," said Woodson, talking about his players. "I've said it all year, they play hard, they love to compete, they come to practice and compete. Unfortunately we haven't had a full deck to display the things that we set out to do at the beginning of the season."

Game Notes

The season series ended in a 2-2 tie...Atlanta snapped a season-worst eight straight games of allowing 100 or more points...Atlanta shot a scorching 60.3 percent (41-of-68) in the contest...Boston made 46.2 percent (36-of-78) of its shots...The Hawks dominated on the boards, 39-27.

(Sports Network)