Kristaps Porzingis made 13 of 19 field-goal attempts and scored a game-high 31 points to lead the Boston Celtics to a 125-117 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday night.
Boston’s Derrick White made four 3-pointers in the fourth quarter and finished with 21 points.
The Celtics received 20 points, nine rebounds and seven assists from Jayson Tatum, who was 2 of 13 from 3-point territory.
The Celtics took their largest lead of the game when Tatum made a layup to put Boston up 111-98 with 7:23 to play. Atlanta was within five points, 120-115, after Bogdan Bogdanovic hit a 3-pointer with 1:17 left, but Porzingis sealed the win with a 3-pointer that gave the Celtics an eight-point lead with 19.4 seconds to play.
Saddiq Bey led the Hawks with 25 points. Trae Young finished with 20 points and 10 assists and Jalen Johnson added 19 points and 15 rebounds. Onyeka Okongwu had 19 points and 10 rebounds.
It was the sixth game of a seven-game homestand for Boston, which improved its home record to 24-3.
Atlanta guard Dejounte Murray didn’t play Wednesday because of lower back tightness. Murray has played in 49 games this season (all starts) and is averaging 21.4 points, 5.1 rebounds and 5.2 assists.
Boston was also short-handed in the backcourt as shooting guard Jrue Holiday sat out with a right elbow sprain. Holiday is averaging 13.1 points, 6.0 rebounds and 4.6 assists.
The Hawks led 37-35 after one quarter, but the Celtics led 71-67 at halftime. Boston shot 57.1 percent from the floor in the first half (28 of 49). Atlanta shot 44.6 percent but made 9 of 24 3-point attempts. Bey led all scorers in the half with 18 points.
The Celtics outscored the Hawks 24-23 in the third quarter and had a 95-90 advantage entering the final 12 minutes.
–Field Level Media
