– by Adesina O. Koiki
A Lot of Sports Talk editor-in-chief
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
BOSTON — Before the start of Wednesday’s game, Atlanta Hawks coach Quin Snyder was asked if his team would carry its 132-106 home defeat to the Celtics from 11 days ago into the squads’ latest match-up, to which he replied: “You want to feel it.”
The Hawks were sure feeling it, in the best way possible, as they got their revenge on the parquet floor.
Nickeil Alexander-Walker led six Hawks players who scored in double figures with 21 points as Atlanta held a double-digit lead for almost every second of the game’s final 42 minutes in its 117-106 victory over the Boston Celtics inside TD Garden on Wednesday evening. Jalen Johnson had 19 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists as the Hawks have won four straight and moved to within a game of the .500 mark (24-25).
Boston’s biggest lead of the game came at 5-2, which was immediately answered by the Hawks with a 9-0 run that gave Atlanta the lead for good. Corey Kispert, who had 13 points in 20 minutes, scored the first five of that run, and by the time the first quarter ended, Atlanta had scored 38 points, made seven of its 12 three-pointers and were up by 20.
Atlanta opened up a 60-38 edge on a Kispert three in the second quarter before Boston closed the first half with an 8-0 spurt.
Despite showing a few flashes in the second half, the Celtics never seriously dented Atlanta’s advantage, pulling to within nine, 83-74, with one minute to go in the third. The Hawks scored the next four points and kept a double-digit advantage for the rest of the game.
Jaylen Brown was the only Celtics player to score more than 12, going for 21 points with seven rebounds. The Celtics made just nine of their 34 three-pointers (26.5 percent), compared with 18-for-42 from Atlanta from beyond the arc.
*Editor’s note: Above the byline is the photo gallery from Wednesday evening’s game, with photos taken by ALOST photo editor Erica Denhoff. After clicking on a photo to enlarge the picture, press the left and right arrow buttons on either side of the caption to scroll through the rest of the pictures that appear on the first page, Also, click on the numbers and/or arrow appearing immediately below the picture grid to load the next set of photos. There are 34 pictures in total.
Follow @Koiki_Sport Follow @ALOST_Official
