BOSTON — The Boston Celtics overcame a 16-point third-quarter deficit and roared to a 106-98 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night, further injecting themselves into the Eastern Conference playoff picture.
Despite going more than nine minutes without a field goal in a span bridging the second and third quarters, the Celtics charged back again with newcomers Isaiah Thomas and Jonas Jerebko leading the way.
By winning their third straight, the Celtics, who came in a game out of the playoffs despite sitting in 12th place in the standings, moved closer to an improbable playoff spot that could be earned despite trading Rajon Rondo and Jeff Green and losing Jared Sullinger for the season.
Down 73-57 late in the third quarter, Thomas, the little guard leading a small Boston five, helped his new team rally. He scored 15 points in a 4:45 span between the third and fourth quarters and, just as they had done in Wednesday’s win over the New York Knicks, Jerebko and forward Jae Crowder aided the cause.
All three players came off the Boston bench.
Thomas, who averaged 20.3 points in his first three games with the Celtics, finished with a season-high 28 points and seven assists. Jerebko had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Crowder added 14 points and five boards.
Guard Avery Bradley led the Boston starters with 19 points, including two late dunks to put the game away.
Guard Mo Williams paced the Hornets with 31 points, seven rebounds and four assists. All five Charlotte starters scored in double figures, but the Hornets’ bench was outscored 60-16 by the Celtics’ reserves.
The Celtics opened a 10-point lead with 5:27 left in the first half. Suddenly, the Hornets struck with 13 straight points and 15 of the final 16 in the half.
Up by four at the break, the visitors scored the first 10 points of the second half, with the 25-1 burst spanning the second and third quarters giving them a 14-point lead.
Bradley, whose 3-pointer was the final Boston basket of the first half, ended the field goal drought with five quick points on two shots, but Charlotte ballooned the lead to 16 with 3:27 left in the third quarter.
NOTES: Commissioner Adam Silver was at the game. … Hornets C Bismack Biyombo missed his 11th straight game with a knee bruise but practiced at TD Garden on Thursday and should return Sunday at Orlando. … Boston F Kelly Olynyk missed his 16th straight game with an ankle sprain but is slated to return to practice Saturday and might be able to play Sunday when the Celtics end a three-game homestand against the Golden State Warriors. … Charlotte coach Steve Clifford, asked before the game about the problems that G Lance Stephenson has had with his new team, pointed to adjustments but denied Stephenson has been a headache. “His attitude has been fine,” Clifford said. “He hasn’t been kicked out of practice, or any of that.” … Celtics president Danny Ainge openly questioned the conditioning of F Jared Sullinger, out for the season, his third in the NBA, with a stress fracture in his left foot. He also had back surgery as a rookie, a problem he had in college. “Jared just hasn’t met his goals,” Ainge said Thursday. … The Celtics had a moment of silence for Earl Lloyd, the first black player and assistant coach in the NBA, who died Thursday.
Hawks 95, Magic 88
ATLANTA — Point guard Jeff Teague scored all 17 of his points in the second half to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 95-88 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday.
Teague was 0 for 6 from the field in his scoreless first half, but found the range in the second half. He wound up making 6 of 8 in the second half, including a clutch floater with 44 seconds left that gave Atlanta a five-point lead it would not relinquish.
Teague was 4 for 4 at the foul line in the final two minutes and added seven assists.
Atlanta (46-12) also got 20 points from forward Paul Millsap, 17 points and 13 rebounds from center Al Horford and 15 points and eight rebounds from forward DeMarre Carroll.
Orlando (19-41) was led by center Nikola Vucevic , who scored 21 points on 10-for-16 shooting and had 15 rebounds. The Magic also got 19 points and six assists from guard Victor Oladipo, 15 points from forward Tobias Harris and 10 points from forward Channing Frye.
It looked like Atlanta would run away with the game early. After Orlando opened with a 3-pointer, the Hawks scored 19 straight points to take a 16-point lead. The Hawks made their first eight field-goal attempts, with Millsap hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 11 points during the stretch.
But Orlando began to peck away and the Atlanta shooters began to cool off. Atlanta made only 8 of 32 (25 percent) after its hot start. Led by Harris, who had 12 in the half, and Oladipo, who scored 10 in the half, the Magic tied the game at 40-40 and led 45-42 at halftime.
The game stayed close throughout the third quarter until Atlanta regained command when guard Dennis Schroder and Carroll connected on back-to-back 3-pointers to give the Hawks a 76-67 lead.
Atlanta led 76-67 at the end of three quarters when guard Kent Bazemore emerged from a scramble and scored on a drive with two seconds left.
Bazemore later hit a 3-pointer with 5:56 left that gave the Hawks another 10-point lead, but the Magic would not go away. Orlando cut the lead to 87-84 on a 3-pointer by Harris with 2:00 left.