Celtics Fall To Hawks 109-101

BOSTON -- Atlanta's big men took over at the right time, leading the Hawks to a 109-101 victory over the Boston Celtics on Friday night.

Forward Paul Millsap and center Al Horford combined for 24 points in the fourth quarter and the Hawks came from six points down to pull out the win.

Atlanta (16-12) won its second straight -- its second two-game winning streak since an 8-2 start to the season. The Celtics (14-13) dropped their third in a row despite 29 points by guard Isaiah Thomas and a career-high 24 points and 10 rebounds by forward Jae Crowder before he fouled out with 49.1 seconds left.

Horford, who finished with nine of his 21 points in the fourth quarter grabbed 10 rebounds, had two straight baskets and Millsap also scored in an 8-0 run that brought the Hawks back from six down.

Millsap, quiet for the first three quarters despite coming in with 18.1-point scoring average, went on a to 15-point quarter and finished with 20 points, eight rebounds and four assists.

Guard Dennis Schroder came off the bench to deliver 22 points and five assists. Forward Kent Bazemore had 15 points, guard Kyle Korver added 11 points and five rebounds and forward Theo Sefolosha came off the bench to contribute 11 points and eight boards.

Thomas had six assists but was also guilty of five of Boston's 21 turnovers. The Celtics, who matched their longest losing streak of the season, have turned the ball over 39 times in the last two games after having just 15 turnovers in the previous two.

Crowder, acquired in the Rajon Rondo deal a year ago Friday, was 8 of 13 from the floor.

The Celtics led by three when a 7-0 run gave them a 39-29 lead with 3:49 left in the first half. But Atlanta outscored Boston 13-4 the rest of the half and trailed by one at the break.

The Hawks came out and scored the first five points of the second half to take the lead, but Thomas took over the offense and shot and passed the Celtics back into the lead.

Boston got the lead up to seven with Crowder scoring eight straight points, but a Sefolosha tap on a fast break at the buzzer made it a two-point game.

NOTES: The Hawks went 60-22 last season but were just 15-12 -- and 7-10 since an 8-2 start -- when they visited Boston on Friday night. ... Friday marked the one-year anniversary of the Celtics shipping G Rajon Rondo to Dallas. "We traded a very impactful player here for a lot of years," coach Brad Stevens said before Friday's game. "But I think that I feel good about, even after a couple of games lost in a row, when I'm not feeling as good about life, I feel really good about our progress that has been made regardless." … Celtics G Marcus Smart, out since Nov. 20 with a lower leg injury, resumed basketball activities and could be closing in on a return. ... The Celtics and Hawks were ranked 2-3 in the NBA in steals (Houston 10.8, Boston 10.2). The Hawks were averaging 9.4.