Celtics fall to Hawks in overtime after late-game meltdown

BOSTON — Scattershot shooting and poor late-game execution doomed the shorthanded Celtics on Saturday night.

Playing without big men Kristaps Porzingis and Al Horford, Boston squandered a three-point lead in the final seconds of regulation and lost to the Atlanta Hawks 119-115 in overtime at TD Garden.

Jayson Tatum missed a would-be game-winner at the fourth-quarter buzzer and a potential game-tying 3-pointer with 6.1 seconds remaining in overtime. Jrue Holiday committed a costly late-game turnover and fouled Trae Young with the Celtics up two, allowing the Hawks to tie the game with free throws.

Four Celtics players scored 20-plus points (Tatum, Jaylen Brown, Derrick White and Payton Pritchard), but Boston shot 38.5% from the floor in the loss, its second-worst mark of the season. The Celtics have shot 40.5% or worse in eight games this season and lost all eight.

The Celtics rocketed out of the gate thanks to Brown, whose elevated energy set the tone in the first quarter. Brown scored nine points in the opening four minutes as Boston quickly built a double-digit lead. He also notched an assist and a steal during that flurry.

Luke Kornet impressed early, as well. Making his fourth start of the season with Porzingis and Horford inactive, the 7-footer played seven minutes in the first quarter and had two steals, a block and six points on 3-of-4 shooting, including a driving dunk off a nice offload from Brown.

The Celtics piled up eight “stocks” in the first quarter against a disjointed Hawks offense. They led 33-21 entering the second despite minimal contributions from Tatum, who attempted just three shots in the first and didn’t make one until the final second of the quarter.

Tatum went on to miss five of his next six field-goal attempts, and he picked up a technical foul for arguing with an official. After that tech, head coach Joe Mazzulla called Tatum to the bench and replaced him with Brown. It was unclear whether that sub was a reaction to the foul or part of Mazzulla’s original pattern. Tatum returned to the floor later in the quarter.

The second quarter was one to forget for Tatum’s teammates, too. After largely dominating the first, the Celtics shot an ugly 23.8% from the floor (5 for 21) and 0 for 8 from 3. They were outscored 31-15 by the Hawks, who pulled ahead with 3:59 left in the half and led 52-48 at halftime.

Second-string center Neemias Queta picked up his third foul just three minutes into the second quarter, prompting Mazzulla to pull him until the second half and lean even more heavily on Kornet.

The Celtics scored on their first three possessions of the second half — two Tatum makes at the rim and a White 3 — but the Hawks scored on their first five, triggering a swift Mazzulla timeout. It took another two minutes of game time for Boston to snap out of its funk, but it eventually did, staging a 12-2 run that erased Atlanta’s nine-point advantage.

White scored five of those points, and Tatum added four as part of a resurgent 14-point third quarter. Kornet remained heavily involved, drawing a foul at the rim, assisting on a White 3-pointer and throwing down a lob from Tatum.

Kornet is a minor character in the Celtics’ star-studded cast, and his skill set isn’t as diverse as Porzingis’ or Horford’s. But the 29-year-old has played his role well this season, and he posted one of his best stat lines of the season Saturday (17 points, seven rebounds, two assists, four steals, two blocks). Remarkably, Kornet entered Saturday with the second-best net rating among all qualified NBA players, trailing only MVP front-runner Shai Gilgeous-Alexander.

A deep 3 by Pritchard put Boston up six with less than a minute remaining in the quarter. Sam Hauser had a chance to extend that lead moments later after Tatum stole a pass and sprung him for a fast break, but his wide-open dunk attack clanged off the rim.

The Celtics could have used those points later.

Boston took a 10-point lead early in the fourth quarter, but Atlanta steadily chipped away. The Hawks pulled even at 87-87 after NBA steals leader Dyson Daniels picked Tatum’s pocket and Garrison Mathews drew a foul at the other end.

Brown responded by grabbing an offensive rebound off a White miss and converting a tough and-one jumper. Pritchard then hit a pair of threes 63 seconds apart, and Kornet put back an errant White triple to make it 98-93. But the next four Celtics possessions ended in misses by Brown or Tatum, and the Hawks rallied. Young’s 3-pointer with 1:08 remaining put Atlanta back ahead, 100-98.

White equalized by drawing a foul on a layup attempt and making both free throws, and the Celtics lucked out when De’Andre Hunter, left wide open by a botched defensive rotation, bricked a 3-pointer. Brown’s fadeaway baseline jumper put the Celtics ahead with 29.1 seconds remaining, and Tatum added a free throw after Young turned the ball over and was whistled for a technical foul.

But Holiday threw the ball out of bounds on the ensuing possession, and Young made four late foul shots, including two that tied the game with 9.1 seconds to play in regulation. Tatum, who gave Young that chance by going 1 for 2 at the line moments earlier, couldn’t convert a 21-footer at the buzzer, and the game went to overtime.

A post-whistle scuffle broke out early in the extra session, with Tatum and Onyeka Okongwu trading shoves while battling for a rebound. It was a rare display of on-court aggression from Tatum, and it could have been costly, as a second technical foul or flagrant foul would have resulted in his ejection. But officials did not penalize either player — nor Mazzulla, who made his way to the middle of the scrum, clapping and smiling.

The Celtics now will head out for their second Western Conference road trip of the month — a four-game jaunt beginning Monday at Golden State.

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