Atlanta @ Boston preview

Last Meeting ( Mar 16, 2019 ) Atlanta 120, Boston 129

The Boston Celtics are winners of six of their last seven games and began a string of five straight games against sub-.500 opponents by rolling over the Charlotte Hornets 109-92 on Tuesday. The Celtics will try to continue the strong run when they return home to host the Atlanta Hawks on Friday.

Boston's well-rounded attack survived the absence of the reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week when Jaylen Brown (illness) sat out Monday and three other players scored at least 21 points in the easy triumph. "I think we've had to deal with core guys being out more than any team probably," Celtics swingman Gordon Hayward, who collected 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists in the win, told reporters. "I think we're used to it. We certainly miss (Brown) or anybody that goes down, but it's one of those things where you've got to go out there and have a next-man-up mentality." The Hawks snapped a 10-game losing streak with a 101-93 victory at Orlando on Monday despite leading scorer Trae Young sitting out to rest an ankle injury. "Over the last 10 games we definitely feel there were games in there we kind of let get away from us," Atlanta guard Kevin Huerter told reporters after the win. "In the fourth quarter, we just tried to stay consistent defensively and limit them to one shot, and we hung on to win."

TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: FS Southeast, NBCS Boston

ABOUT THE HAWKS (7-27): With Young sidelined, Atlanta turned to two-way point guard Brandon Goodwin for production and was rewarded with 21 points on 7-of-11 shooting and six assists in 22 minutes. Goodwin, an undrafted rookie from Florida Gulf Coast, totaled five points on 2-of-12 shooting in his first four NBA games. "I think we've been waiting on Brandon," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce told reporters. "He's had some success down at the G-League level, which is why we called him up in the first place. ... He's been shooting the ball well, we just needed to get him some minutes and get him to settle down and he came in and (that's why) we have him as a two-way player."

ABOUT THE CELTICS (23-8): Boston's impressive depth extends to the bench, where veteran center Enes Kanter continues to make the most of his minutes. Kanter averaged 9.5 points and 9.2 rebounds in 18.7 minutes during December and capped 2019 with 13 points, 14 rebounds and six blocks in 23 minutes at Charlotte on Tuesday. "I didn't realize it was six blocks," Hayward told reporters. "That's pretty big time. He's been telling people he's a stop sign. I hope that he's going to continue to be a stop sign for us. We need him on that end."

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Celtics F Jayson Tatum scored 24 points on Tuesday and averaged 22.4 in December.

2. Young practiced on Tuesday and is expected to return on Friday.

3. Boston swept the four-game series last season.

PREDICTION: Celtics 112, Hawks 96