Final: Celtics 114, Hawks 96 -- C's snap three-game losing streak

Effort was going to be more important than ever with Al Horford (sore knee) sidelined on Friday night and with the prospect of losing two straight games against the bottom tier of the Eastern Conference staring them in the face, the C’s answered the bell early. Six different Celtics scored in double figures on the way to a blowout 114-96 win over the Hawks, which snapped a three-game losing streak for Boston.

The first quarter was essentially a snapshot of what Celtics fans envisioned the offense looking like before the season.

The visitors shot 64 percent from the field, went 8-of-12 from downtown and dished out 12 assists on their 16 made baskets, helping the C’s nearly double the Hawks up in the first quarter (45-23). Atlanta’s horrific defense (Trae Young says hello) was a big part of the outburst but the C’s were running on all cylinders into this frame. Irving pulled up for 3s with ease from the top of the key and Aron Baynes (season-high 16 points) did work down low in the post and on the offensive glass.

Marcus Morris and Jayson Tatum also chipped in carrying the offense in spurts, helping Boston played mistake-free basketball in the period (one turnover). The offense didn’t come close to looking this crisp again for the rest of the night (69 points over final three frames) but the fact that they avoided a deficit for the entire game was a victory in itself.

Boston gets back to work on Saturday night against the Mavericks in Dallas with Al Horford expected to return to the lineup.

First Half Notes

• Celtics' offense comes up guns blazing unlike anything we've seen all year. Aron Baynes and Kyrie Irving were the chief initiators, combining for 16 of Boston's first 20 points.


• Irving repeatedly got wide open looks at the top of the key thanks to some screening and lackluster defense from Trae Young. Baynes did his work thanks to good positioning down low (leading to putbacks) and some wide open 3s.


• Everyone got into the act early except for Jaylen Brown, who missed all 3 of his treys before the break.


• C's starters pushed the lead to double digits as Marcus Morris got going (three straight shots), Gordon Hayward had a nice mix of scoring and setting up teammates and Marcus Smart got into the Hawks defensively as well, pushing the C's lead to 26 points at one spot in the second quarter.


• The offense at this point stalled though, as the C's scored just five points over the final few minutes of the half. Some shoddy ballhandling (seven turnovers) was the chief source of the offensive struggles, along with a couple of forced shots in the halfcourt from the usual suspects.


• Hawks got a little offensive rhythm with Lin/Bembry/Len/Huerter unit to close out the second quarter so look for a bit more of them to close the deficit.


• Hayward was a team-high +17 and first half. Brown was even.

• Marcus Morris will be starting over Al Horford at power forward, who will sit out with sore left knee.


• Horford is expected to return to the lineup tomorrow night against the Mavericks.


• The Hawks have lost 10 straight games and are one game out of having the worst record in the NBA, just ahead of the Cleveland Cavaliers.


• Atlanta has the worst offense in the NBA through 18 games and ranks 25th in defensive efficiency. One area of strength? They are fourth in the NBA in forcing turnovers.