Aron Baynes led six double-figure scorers with 16 points, and the visiting Boston Celtics broke their three-game losing streak with a 114-96 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
The loss was the 10th straight for Atlanta (3-16), which has the NBA's worst record and hasn't won since Nov. 3. Boston (10-9) won in Atlanta for the third straight time.
Baynes was 5 for 7 from the field and added nine rebounds and four assists. The Celtics also got double-digit scoring from Jayson Tatum (14), Kyrie Irving (13), Terry Rozier (12), Gordon Hayward (11) and Jaylen Brown (10). Marcus Smart had a team-high seven assists and three steals.
Atlanta was led by reserve point guard Jeremy Lin with 19 points and 10 assists. Alex Len added 17 points, and forward John Collins scored a season-high 16 points.
Boston played without center Al Horford, who sat out the game with a sore left knee. Horford, who played nine seasons in Atlanta before joining the Celtics as a free agent last year, played 35 minutes with the ailment on Wednesday, but the team opted to give him the night off.
Boston set the pace early by outscoring the Hawks 45-23 in the first quarter, thanks to 11 points from Irving, who made three 3-pointers in the opening period. The Celtics had an 11-0 spurt and led by as many as 29.
Atlanta cut the lead to 61-45 at the half. The Hawks outscored the Celtics 10-2 going into the break, with DeAndre' Bemby's slam dunk being part of the run.
Atlanta got Len back in the lineup after he missed Wednesday's game with a sore back. Omari Spellman was limited to eight minutes with a right hip adductor injury.
The Celtics complete a back-to-back on Saturday at Dallas, the second game in the three-game road trip. The Hawks finish a four-game homestand on Sunday against Charlotte before starting a three-game road swing.
--Field Level Media
Boston | Atlanta | |
Aron Baynes 16 | Scoring | Jeremy Lin 19 |
Marcus Smart 7 | Assists | Jeremy Lin 10 |
Aron Baynes 9 | Rebounds | DeAndre' Bembry 7 |
Aron Baynes 5 | Free Throws Made | Alex Len 5 |
Terry Rozier 3 | Steals | Jeremy Lin 3 |
Gordon Hayward 2 | Blocks | DeAndre' Bembry 4 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Boston | 114 | 46.2 | 13-40 | 17-21 | 31 | 43 | 7 | 11 | 16 |
Atlanta | 96 | 43.2 | 6-35 | 20-29 | 22 | 40 | 7 | 9 | 21 |