Boston, MA – Jason Terry made a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left in overtime to lift the Boston Celtics over the Atlanta Hawks, 107-102.
Terry scored Boston's final five points in overtime and finished the game with 19 points. Paul Pierce added 27 points, seven rebounds and seven assists for the Celtics, who pushed their home winning streak to nine games Friday.
Kevin Garnett donated 17 points and eight boards for Boston, which has won five in a row overall. Jeff Green tallied 12 points.
"We're working hard, we're grinding. We're showing our character," Garnett said. "We're going out, working hard and earning everything we're getting."
Josh Smith ended with 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds for the Hawks, who have dropped four of five. Jeff Teague had 26 points and Al Horford recorded a double-double with 22 points and 13 boards.
The Celtics went on a 10-0 run in the early stages of the fourth quarter to build a 12-point lead. Jordan Crawford bookended the spurt with a 3-pointer and reverse layup to make it 82-70.
Still trailing by 12, 86-74, with 6:35 remaining, the Hawks put together an 18-6 surge to tie the game. Smith tallied six points during the burst that Kyle Korver capped with a 3-pointer, making it 92-92 with 1:31 to go.
Pierce stopped the spurt with an 18-foot jumper, giving Boston the lead back with 1:10 remaining. Horford responded with an alley-oop slam to tie the game again.
Atlanta had a great chance to go in front after Pierce missed a jumper. However, Smith tried a behind-the-back pass on the ensuing Hawks possession. Garnett, who was awarded with a steal, missed a jumper at the other end.
Anthony Tolliver came down with a key defensive rebound with 2.2 seconds to go. The ensuing inbound pass hit off the backboard and went right to Smith, who was off the mark with a 17-foot jumper as time expired.
Pierce's 3-pointer gave the Celtics a 102-101 edge with over 1 1/2 minutes to play in overtime. Smith went 1-of-2 from the line at the other end to tie the game.
Consecutive turnovers by Terry and Smith led to the game-winning shot. Terry got the ball at the top of the arc and drained a 3-pointer to give Boston the lead.
Smith turned the ball over again and Terry followed with two free throws to seal Boston's victory.
"I think the story of the game for us was turnovers down the stretch. I think that they just killed us. We can't turn the ball over," Horford said.
A tight first quarter that featured nine lead changes ended with the Celtics holding a 28-26 lead.
Boston's margin reached 10 midway through the second stanza. The Celtics ended the frame on a 9-3 spurt to take a 52-47 edge into the locker room.
The home team led throughout the third quarter and held a 72-68 margin heading to the fourth.
Game Notes
Boston leads the season series by a 2-1 margin ... The Celtics improved to 22-9 as the host this season ... Hawks center Zaza Pachulia (sore right Achilles) missed Friday's game ... Boston was limited to two offensive rebounds.
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