Saturday 16 March 2019 21:24, UK
Kyrie Irving scored 30 points and Jaylen Brown added 23, with two key baskets in a fourth-quarter stretch that allowed the Boston Celtics to defeat the visiting Atlanta Hawks 129-120 on Saturday.
It was the second straight win for Boston and the Celtics have now won five of their last six games, while also sweeping the four-game season series with the Hawks who came into the game on the back of a two-game winning streak of their own.
Just two days after a second career triple-double, Irving fell just short of a third as he had 11 rebounds and nine assists to go with his 30 point haul, that included four 3-pointers.
Boston also got 19 points, four in a crucial fourth-quarter run, and 11 rebounds from Marcus Morris, while Jayson Tatum had 18 points and eight rebounds and Marcus Smart scored 16 points.
The Hawks trailed 105-94 entering the final quarter but battled back to tie the game 112-112 following a pair of Kent Bazemore free throws with just under six minutes remaining
However, Atlanta-born Brown, who came off the bench to shoot 8-for-14 from the field, including three 3-pointers, answered with a three-pointer and finished a 9-0 run with a jumper to help the Celtics preserve the win.
The Hawks were led by Trae Young, who had 28 points, including 5-for-8 shooting on 3-pointers, and John Collins, who had 20 points and 11 rebounds.
Taurean Prince added 17 points and Vince Carter scored 16, while Dewayne Dedmon had 13 rebounds but didn't land any of his five points until the fourth quarter.
Having won the first two meetings between the pair with big first quarters, they were at it again on Sunday when having been level at 30-30 they scored 43 points in the first and led 74-62 at halftime.
Atlanta are back in action again on Sunday when they travel to Orlando to face the Magic while Boston get an extra day off before they play again on Monday when they host Denver.
