Celtics fall flat vs. Hawks in largest home loss since November

Zack Cox, Boston Herald on Jan 28, 2026

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BOSTON — Eleven days after being blown out by the Celtics on their home floor, the Hawks got their revenge at TD Garden.

Atlanta led by as many as 23 points Wednesday night in a 117-106 win over Boston. It was the first double-digit defeat for the Celtics since Dec. 11 — when they lost by 15 to the Milwaukee Bucks — and their first at home since Nov. 1, when they were blown out by the Houston Rockets.

Jaylen Brown scored a team-high 21 points but shot 9 for 20 from the field and 0 for 5 from 3-point range. Boston struggled as a team from beyond the arc, going 9 for 34 (26.5%).

Brown’s minus-24 in 29 minutes was second-worst on the team behind Payton Pritchard’s minus-30; both were off the floor during Boston’s most productive stretch of the game, during which it cut Atlanta’s lead to 11 before fading in the fourth quarter.

The Celtics, who fell to 29-18, will continue their four-game homestand Friday night against the Sacramento Kings.

With starting center Neemias Queta out sick, Amari Williams started for the second time in three games (and the second time in his career), getting the nod over Luka Garza. The second-round rookie had chances for early baskets but missed a pair of shots at the rim — one off a pick-and-roll feed from Brown and another on a lob from Derrick White. Williams also was whistled for an illegal screen.

The most surprising aspect of Williams’ first quarter, though, was his workload. The two-way player was on the floor for 11 of the 12 minutes, with coach Joe Mazzulla quickly pulling Garza after the veteran committed a turnover and a shooting foul. Williams was just the third Celtics center in the last three seasons to log double-digit minutes in an opening quarter.

Those proved to be the only meaningful minutes Williams played in the game. He sat the rest of the night, with Mazzulla pivoting toward a combination of Garza and smaller lineups that featured 6-foot-6 Jordan Walsh at the five.

The first quarter was one the Celtics would prefer to forget. They shot 30% from the field and 27.3% from three as the Hawks — who made eight of their first 11 3-pointers — built a 20-point lead. Anfernee Simons did what he could to spark Boston’s scuffling offense with a pair of 3s and an out-of-timeout layup, but the Celtics still entered the second quarter down 38-18.

The Celtics were able to cut into that deficit with runs of 10-2 and 8-0 that bookended the second quarter. A key cog in both of those: Garza, who played the entire second quarter and was productive throughout, tallying 11 points, six rebounds and a block. Mazzulla stuck with Garza to open the second half.

Atlanta still entered halftime with a comfortable 60-46 lead, however, after Boston squandered a chance to draw closer by botching the final possession of the half. Brown shot 4 for 13 in the first half, and rookie Hugo Gonzalez — often a difference-maker off the bench — had issues defending the Hawks’ shooters.

But Boston controlled much of the third quarter, responding with a 21-10 run powered mainly by White and an undersized second unit. White (11 points, 5 of 13) was active at both ends with nine points, one block and one steal in the quarter, and Baylor Scheierman was a much-needed energizer off the bench.

The second-year pro, who’s used his penchant for dirty-work hustle plays to carve out a role in Mazzulla’s rotation, drew a change, set up Gonzalez for a 3-pointer and got to the foul line five times in the third quarter alone, equaling his season total of free-throw attempts entering Wednesday night. The Garden crowd cried for a flagrant foul after Onyeka Okongwu wrapped up Scheierman to stop a fast break, but the officials did not award it.

Head referee Mark Lindsay drew Mazzulla’s ire a short while later when a no-call on a Scheierman rebound attempt resulted in a Hawks put-back. Mazzulla was hit with a technical foul, and assistant Sam Cassell nearly lost his footing while trying to prevent his boss from arguing further.

Scheierman went 1 for 5 in the loss but was a plus-11 in his 17 minutes.

A buzzer-beating Simons floater cut Atlanta’s lead to 87-76 entering the fourth quarter. Then, the Celtics’ comeback stalled.

With the Celtics down 106-92 with 6:43 remaining, Brown caught Okongwu in the face with an errant arm, knocking out one of the Hawks center’s front teeth. Officials deemed the play worthy of a flagrant 1 foul, giving Okongwu two free throws and Atlanta possession. A Dyson Daniels put-back dunk, followed by a deep 3-pointer from Nickeil Alexander-Walker, made it 114-96.

Fans began heading for the exits, and Mazzulla pulled his regulars, sending in Williams and wing Josh Minott. Those garbage-time minutes were Minott’s first since Jan. 3; he missed 10 straight games with an ankle sprain and has not been part of Boston’s regular rotation since late December.