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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
ATLANTA (AP) -- Isaiah Rider wasted little time in his first month with the Atlanta Hawks extending his reputation as a talented
but troubled shooting guard .
|  | | Dikembe Mutombo abused the Boston defense for 17 points and 17 rebounds. |
But following a 30-point performance in a 94-84 win over the
Boston Celtics Saturday night, Rider gave Hawks coach Lenny Wilkens
reason to hope the 28-year-old will quit causing problems off the
court.
"Lenny has my backing to the fullest," said Rider, who earned
his way back in to the starting lineup Tuesday after drawing a
one-game suspension Nov. 15 for failing to report to practice. "We
talked behind closed doors. I told him I didn't want to disrupt the
team. I don't want to mope or pout."
Rider played a game-high 43 minutes and complemented center
Dikembe Mutombo's 17-point, 17-rebound effort. Atlanta took its first lead at 77-75 on a jump shot by Rider, who scored 22 points
in the second half.
Since reclaiming his starting job in a 113-106 win over Miami,
Rider has averaged 24.5 points and 41 minutes.
"I just thought he played a great game," Wilkens said. "He
didn't want to be denied. The thing about J.R. is even though he
misses a few shots, he's capable of making the big shot. So we
wanted to keep him in there."
One day after wasting a 21-point advantage and losing 114-112 to
Milwaukee, the Celtics twice held 14-point leads, but allowed
Atlanta to close the gap to 73-72 with a 13-0 run.
Boston went 6:43 without a field goal before Adrian Griffin hit a jumper to put the Celtics up 78-77 -- their last lead of the game.
The Celtics made only two more field goals, one coming on a
goaltending call by Mutombo on Antoine Walker's running jumper.
"If you let this team dominate you on the glass, you can't
win," said Celtics coach Rick Pitino, whose team was outrebounded
30-9 in the second half. "It's our own fault. We ran out of gas
and got killed on the backboards. They deserved to win."
Atlanta improved to 5-9 to avoid posting its worst start since 1990-91.
Playing their fourth game in five days, the Hawks appeared to
tire as the third quarter wore on, watching Boston go up 70-56 on
three free throws by Dana Barros.
Barros hit a 3-pointer with 1:59 left in the third for a 73-59
lead, but the Celtics, who were playing their fourth game in six
days, managed only three free throws until Griffin hit his jumper.
Kenny Anderson led Boston with 17 points, and Walker added 16.
"I don't know what happened," said Anderson, who missed nine
of his last 11 shots. "Even when we get a lead, we have to keep
playing. We just didn't do the things we needed to do to win.
Everybody has the same schedule. We can't make any excuses."
Pitino pulled all five of his starters with 1:24 to play after
Rider's basket made it 89-82.
"The mentally tough team wins it," Pitino said. "Isaiah Rider is more mentally tough than our defense."
Atlanta's Alan Henderson had 14 points and nine rebounds.
Game notes
Celtics center Pervis Ellison needed three stitches to
close a cut above his right eye. He returned in the second quarter.
... The Hawks finally won after losing their first seven games when
trailing after three quarters.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Boston Clubhouse
Atlanta Clubhouse
RECAPS
New York 99
Orlando 96
Atlanta 94
Boston 84
Cleveland 106
Charlotte 89
Miami 89
Washington 86
Dallas 95
Chicago 83
Minnesota 113
Vancouver 82
Philadelphia 82
Milwaukee 79
San Antonio 106
Denver 87
Phoenix 129
New Jersey 90
Toronto 106
Golden State 88
Portland 88
LA Clippers 71
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