All season long the Celtics have been prone to long stretches of poor play within games. That trend continued in Game 5 of their first round playoff series with the Hawks Tuesday night and it may ultimately wind up costing them their season. Atlanta outscored the C’s 32-19 in the second quarter and 42-23 in the third quarter as it coasted to a 110-83 victory. The Hawks now lead the series, 3-2, and can close things out in Game 6. It was a highly disappointing outcome for the Celtics, who owed a 10-point lead at one point in the first half.
The Hawks completely silenced the Celtics’ leading scorer in the series in Isaiah Thomas as the Celtics’ sparkplugscored just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting in 29 minutes. Thomas left the game early in the fourth quarter after rolling his left ankle but the injury was described as “mild” and he should be able to go for Game 6 Thursday in Boston (8 p.m., CSNNE, TNT). Kent Bazemore helped spark the Hawks by hitting four 3-pointers. Evan Turner led the Celtics in scoring with 15 points.
Celtics slammed by Hawks in Game 5, eye on Isaiah Thomas injury and status for Game 6
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