The Celtics are resting their starters tonight, and the backups are putting together a demonstrating of their merit, trailing the Hawks by nine points at the half. Atlanta is shooting more than 60% from the floor, with Joe Johnson leading things. Johnson has 23 points in 16 minutes, including shooting three of four on his three pointers. Avery Bradley is doing his best for the Celtics, scoring 17 points in the first half.
Atlanta lost their last two games against the Celtics, and they were looking to show their strength tonight. They're doing just that, really showing the difference in free throws by shooting over .750 to Boston's .250. These two teams could easily face off in the playoffs, so Boston's emphasis on resting players means that they're likely to get a better scouting report out of the game than Atlanta. Back-ups or not, Doc Rivers expects a lot and has not been happy with his team's performance in the first half, so stick to this storystream to see if they turn it around in the second half.
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