The Celtics got huge contributions from their bench, particularly Kelly Olynyk and Kris Humphries, but it wasn't enough in their 92-91 loss the Hawks Tuesday afternoon at TD Garden. Once again the C's lost a big lead as they led by 18 in the first half. The Celtics are now 13-18 on the year and 8-9 at home.
The bench carried the team as no Celtics starter reached double-figures. Olnynk had his best game as a professional finishing with 21 points, five assists and four rebounds. Humphries had 18 points, while Courtney Lee finished with 11. Head coach Brad Stevens kept much of his bench in the game until the final buzzer, rewarding them for their strong play. Jordan Crawford had two chances to win it for the C's in the final seconds, but couldn't get either shot to fall.
Paul Millsap led the way for the Hawks with an impressive 34 point, 15 rebound performance in the win.
The team will return to action Thursday night (8:00, CSNNE) in Chicago when they take on the Bulls.
What they'll be saying: Once again the Celtics came out of the gates strong, building a big lead, but just couldn't keep it. Despite the loss the C's played good defense against the Hawks, holding them to 36 percent shooting from the field. Offensively, the Celtics starters couldn't get anything going as they shot a combined 12-for-47 (26 percent) from the field. While it was good to see the bench contribute, the entire team to contribute if they want to maintain their top spot in the Atlantic division.
