Hawks heat up in second quarter, lead Celtics 47-39

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ATLANTA – After a sluggish start shooting by both Atlanta and Boston, the Hawks came alive in the second quarter which paved the way for a 47-39 halftime lead.

Boston led 29-19, but the Hawks rallied behind a furious 26-6 run that included a bevy of big baskets by Kent Bazemore which put Atlanta ahead 45-35 with 1:05 to play.

Brad Stevens called a time-out, but the Hawks were Jacuzzi-hot offensively and were in no mood to cool off.

Bazemore, instrumental in Atlanta’s Game 1 win in this series, is on pace for another big night with 14 points in the first half.

And Jeff Teague is off to a nice start as well with 10 points.

Meanwhile, the Celtics’ top scorer Isaiah Thomas had a half he would just as soon forget.

Thomas, the top scorer in the playoffs with a 28.3 points per game average, is scoreless at the half missing all four of his shots from the field.

Keeping the Celtics afloat is the play of Thomas’ fellow starters who combined for 23 points with each scoring at least five.

Meanwhile, Marcus Smart and Jared Sullinger are the primary sources of offense off the bench as each scored seven points in the first half.

Defensive struggle, offensively-challenged, it doesn’t matter whether you were rockin’ your Celtics Green goggles or sporting some Atlanta Hawks spectacles, all were in agreement that points were hard to come by for both teams in the first quarter.

Atlanta led 13-12 following a basket by Dennis Schroder late in the first, only for the Celtics to find their stride offensively by closing out the quarter with an 8-2 run to lead 20-15 after one period of play.

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