Hawks top Celtics for 2d time

“I thought they were more physical, I thought they attacked,’’ Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “We’re supposed to be the physical team, we haven’t been against them. They’ve been far more physical than us. We have a great spirit on this team and I don’t think we had that [last] night. It happens. I thought . . . on the floor, we were awful - very little talking. And then a lot of excuse-making. That happens and it won’t be the last time. But that’s twice now Atlanta has been the better team.’’

Crawford took over in the final quarter, making his first four shots, a 4-point play providing a 78-67 lead with 7:13 remaining. After Kendrick Perkins’s in-bounds 3-point play, Crawford finally missed and the Celtics got two Ray Allen foul shots in transition. Paul Pierce (21 points) hit a jumper then scored off a turnover to make it 78-76 with 5:27 remaining.

The Hawks then hit their next three shots - a Mike Bibby 3-pointer, a Josh Smith 19-footer, and an Al Horford hook for an 85-79 lead with 3:55 left. The Hawks killed 53 seconds on a possession which included two offensive rebounds, concluding in a Crawford free throw for an 88-82 edge with 1:47 left.

Crawford upped the advantage to 9 points with a 3-pointer with 52 seconds remaining. The shot was set up as the Celtics squandered a potential fast break as Pierce’s three-quarter court pass was stolen by Horford.

“We played in spurts,’’ Rivers said. “We spurted to that (78-76) - we got mad, got a timeout, and everybody got upset And, then, all of a sudden, we start playing extremely hard, and doing all our rules, all our things, and then we let it go again. But you can’t play in spurts against a good team.’’

Guard Eddie House returned from a stomach virus, but guard Tony Allen remained at the team hotel with flu symptoms.

The Celtics seemed to be in control as they led by as many as 8 points in the opening half.

But the Hawks hit their first three 3-pointers of the second half, overcoming a 45-39 halftime deficit. Then, Horford’s dunk upped the lead to 52-49 with 8:18 left in the third quarter. The Celtics disputed the sequence, which started with Bibby stealing an outlet pass, appearing to knock down Rajon Rondo.