January 16, 2017
ATLANTA - Al Horford was booed - often lustily - and the Celtics played as if they wanted to make it up to the former Hawk. Isaiah Thomas scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter, including a game-winning shot from 18 feet with 2.4 seconds left as the Celtics beat the Hawks, 103-101, last night at Horford's old homecourt of Philips Arena.
Kelly Olynyk also proved too hot to take off the floor, coming off the bench to score a season-high 26 points and applied critical defensive pressure on Paul Millsap as the Hawks forward missed with Atlanta's final shot from the baseline.
The Celtics were also back on their 3-point tear, shooting 17-of-44 from downtown. Olynyk and Jae Crowder (18 points, nine rebounds) finished with four 3-pointers apiece, and Thomas, on the way to winning yet another tight game, was 5-of-13 on 3-pointers.
Confidence never being an issue for Thomas, he also altered the outcome when, with 2.4 seconds left and the score knotted at 101-101, he changed the play. Thomas waved off a screen, drove to his right against the bigger Kent Bazemore, and calmly buried a step-back jumper.
The Hawks made a furious fourth-quarter effort fueled by Tim Hardaway Jr., who scored 13 of his 23 points in the last seven minutes, and capped by Millsap's game-tying 3-pointer with 25.5 seconds left.
Olynyk, with one of the finest two-way performances of his Celtics career, got a hand in front of Millsap as he missed from the right baseline to end the game.
"It was just that moment. It's like, I think he was trying to call timeout at first," Thomas said of coach Brad Stevens, who ditched his plan for a timeout and allowed Thomas to "go win the game." Said Thomas: "Then he was trying to do a play to run a pick-and-roll, but I called it off a little bit. And he trusts me. At the end he said, 'Hell of a shot.' It was something I wanted to try to take advantage of. Bazemore had that look in his face like he was going to get a stop and I had other plans."
Thomas was ultimately spurred on by Stevens' show of faith. "It means everything because without him and this team I wouldn't be in the position I am," said Thomas. "He lets me be me. He puts me in position to be me. And that's the definition of our relationship right there. He really trusts me in that type of situation and I can't thank him enough."
Patience played a key role, considering how close the Hawks came to stealing this one down the stretch. Mike Dunleavy, in his first appearance on the Hawks, helped spark the rally with a pair of fourth-quarter 3-pointers, including one with 2:11 left that cut the Celtics lead to 94-92.
Olynyk and Thomas propped the lead back up to 98-92, only for Malcolm Delaney to step in with his second 3-pointer of the quarter
Thomas hit what he thought was a game-clinching 3-pointer with 52.4 seconds left for a 101-95 lead, only for 3-ball momentum to swing the other way. Over the course of 24 seconds - and sandwiched around a Thomas miss - Hardaway and Millsap hit consecutive 3-pointers for the tie. It was time for Thomas to call his own play.
"They were switching every pick-and-roll. I felt like I had an advantage on Bazemore," said Thomas. "I knew I could get to my spot without a pick-and-roll and I just tried to do the best I possibly could. And I got close to the elbow and just pulled up. I've worked on that shot thousands of times."
It was also time for Thomas to follow through on his vow to win the game for Horford. "It was great. That's all we wanted," he said. "I heard a few boos at the beginning when they called his name but I'm glad they appreciated him when they did a standing ovation because he's a hell of a - not just basketball player, but hell of a guy. And we needed to get that win for him. We knew it was big for him."
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