The Celtics had an easy time against the Hawks earlier this month in Atlanta. The tables turned in a rematch at TD Garden on Wednesday night.
Boston dug themselves a 20-point hole in the first quarter and couldn’t recover the rest of the way, falling 117-106 to the Hawks.
The Hawks used some red-hot shooting in the first quarter (7-of-12 from 3-point range) while Boston struggled to muster anything offensively (30 percent shooting) to dig a massive early hole. The Celtics put up more of a fight in the final three frames but couldn’t get any closer than nine points the rest of the way against a Hawks offense that was firing on all cylinders.
Six different players scored in double digits for the visitors, with Jalen Johnson also posting a double-double (19 points, 14 rebounds) in the victory. Jaylen Brown led the way for the Celtics during an off shooting night with 21 points.
Boston fell to 1-1 on their four-game homestand with the defeat. They will next host the Kings on Friday night.
**Amari Williams comes back to earth in second start:** With Neemias Queta (illness) out, the two-way center got his second start of the past week after a strong performance against the Blazers. However the big man underwhelmed in a tough matchup against the Hawks frontcourt. He went scoreless in the first half with a couple of turnovers, leading him to get benched in the second half before garbage time. It was wise for Boston to get a look at their two-way center, but this uneven play only reinforces Boston’s need for more big man depth ahead of the trade deadline.
**Josh Minott returns from ankle injury:** The fourth-year forward was cleared to play on Monday night against the Blazers but saw his first action since Jan. 3 in this one in the closing minutes of the defeat. Minott finished with five points and a rebound in his four minutes of action but still appears to be out of Joe Mazzulla’s rotation for now.
**Celtics suffer their first double-digit loss in more than a month:** The Celtics have prided themselves on being the harder playing team this season with few blowout losses all year long. Boston marked the first game since November that Boston was dominated essentially from wire-to-wire as they trailed by double digits for essentially the final three and a half quarters and couldn’t get any closer than nine points in the second half. It was the first double-digit loss for Boston since Dec. 11 in Milwaukee and their worst home loss since Nov. 1 against the Rockets.
**3-point shooting deficit too much to overcome:** Boston not only shot poorly from 3-point range (26 percent) in this one but also took just 34 attempts from beyond the arc, eight below their season average. On the other side, Atlanta doubled Boston’s 3-point makes (18-9) and shot 43 percent from 3-point range with four different starters hitting multiple 3s. With Boston’s starters struggling from downtown (3-of-19), they weren’t able to keep up with the Hawks offensively after a dismal first quarter.