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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
BOSTON (AP) -- A brilliant defensive play salvaged a horrible
offensive night for Antoine Walker.
Walker poked the ball from Jason Terry, ruining Atlanta's
attempt at one last shot, and the Boston Celtics held on for an
83-82 win over the Hawks on Tuesday night.
"I only know one statistic," Boston interim coach Jim O'Brien
said, "that he had a floor burn at the end of the game when he
dove head-first to knock the ball away."
Walker missed 16 of 19 shots and scored only 11 points. And
Atlanta had a chance to win after getting the ball with 21.1
seconds left trailing 83-82.
But with five seconds remaining, Walker poked the ball from
Terry and it rolled out of bounds. Atlanta retained possession but
only 2.1 seconds remained. Terry launched a long desperation shot
that officials ruled came after the buzzer. It missed anyway.
"With the pick and roll, I knew I'd end up on him," Walker
said. "He's quicker than me so I knew I'd have to make the first
move."
The play ended a tough night for Terry, who scored just 8 points
on 3-for-13 shooting. The shooting guard handled the ball in the
absence of point guards Matt Maloney, on the injured list, and
Brevin Knight, who left with a strained left groin with 3:32 left
in the second quarter.
"Any time you lose a guy, it's hard," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger
said. "We made (Terry) go all 24 (minutes) in the second half."
The Hawks lost their fourth in a row.
"This one probably hurt more than any of them," Terry said.
"I wasn't careless, but physically I've got to be stronger with
the ball."
Boston won the opener of a three-game homestand despite shooting
poorly.
Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 23 points and scored the
winning basket with 1:07 left but shot just 7-for-19. Randy Brown
added a season-high 16, but the Celtics made just 38 percent of
their shots.
"I'm not really worried about my shooting night," Walker said.
"There are always going to be more good ones than bad ones."
The Hawks hit 45 percent of their shots and were led by Dion
Glover with a season-high 15 points, Lorenzen Wright with 13 points
and 14 rebounds and Dikembe Mutombo with 12 points and 18 rebounds.
Pierce scored seven of the Celtics' last nine points.
"The offense really wasn't there so we stepped it up on the
defensive end," he said, "especially late in the game."
Terry hit a 20-footer with 2:52 left to tie the game 80-80.
Pierce then made one of two free throws, and Terry put Atlanta
ahead 82-81 with an 18-footer.
After Walker missed a 3-pointer and the Hawks were called for a
24-second violation, Pierce's short baseline jumper gave Boston the
lead, 83-82.
The Hawks committed another 24-second violation but had a chance
when Eric Williams missed a short shot and Mutombo rebounded with
21.1 seconds to go. But Walker ruined their final possession.
"They put the ball in my hands and I've got to take care of the
ball way better than that," Terry said.
Game notes
Walker and Pierce have led the Celtics in scoring in every
game except two. Bryant Stith and Williams were their top scorers
in those games. ... Boston point guard Kenny Anderson missed his
sixth consecutive game with a sprained right ankle. ... Terry was
scoreless in the first half after averaging 21.7 points in his
previous 27 games. ... Atlanta has held its last 22 opponents under
100 points. ... Boston is 4-4 since O'Brien succeeded Rick Pitino
as coach.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Boston Clubhouse
RECAPS
Boston 83
Atlanta 82
Washington 97
Charlotte 95
Orlando 116
Toronto 111
Philadelphia 114
Dallas 98
Milwaukee 105
New York 91
Minnesota 82
Phoenix 73
Seattle 91
LA Lakers 80
Portland 104
Chicago 100
San Antonio 110
Vancouver 77
Denver 105
Houston 100
Utah 100
Golden State 78
Sacramento 130
New Jersey 104
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Antoine Walker Official Site
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