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Celtics hope to continue momentum against Bobcats

Nov 25, 2013 - 3:42 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Boston Celtics halted a six-game slide and will try to carry that momentum into a road tilt with the Charlotte Bobcats Monday night.

Boston knocked off the Atlanta Hawks in Atlanta on Saturday night, 94-87. The C's were down 11 with 9:30 to go, but Boston outscored Atlanta 30-13 in the fourth quarter, limiting the Hawks to 21.7 percent from the field (5-of-23). Atlanta managed just two field goals in the frame since Mike Scott hit a trey at the 9:30 mark.

"We rallied, made big plays," said Boston head coach Brad Stevens. "Our guys did a pretty good job of making big plays for themselves."

Brandon Bass paced Boston with 17 points, followed by 16 from Jeff Green. Jared Sullinger managed 15 points and both Avery Bradley and Jordan Crawford chipped in 12. Crawford also handed out 10 assists. Vitor Faverani managed 11 off the bench.

Saturday's victory was the Celtics first since a Nov. 11 win at home over the Orlando Magic. It's been a series of runs this season for Boston with four straight losses to open the campaign, then four consecutive wins, followed by the six-game slide.

"I think we've learned from that," said Crawford. "I think today we finally pushed through. We learned a little bit about ourselves. We learned that if we just stick together, we'll be alright."

Monday's bout with the Bobcats will complete a short two-game road trip.

Charlotte has wavered around .500 all season and got back to that mark with a 96-72 road victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday night.

The Bobcats really broke the game open in the third quarter in Milwaukee. They were seven ahead, but took the third quarter, 28-12, to go 23 clear with 12 minutes to go.

Al Jefferson led the way for the Bobcats with 19 points, as four other Charlotte players scored in double figures.

The Bobcats held the Bucks to 35 percent shooting from the field and kept their own turnovers to a manageable number of 16.

"I thought our defense was pretty good to start and pretty consistent the whole game," Bobcats coach Steve Clifford said.

Charlotte, which announced it will return to the purple and teal colors when the team once again becomes the Hornets next season, begins a three-game homestand Monday.

The Bobcats beat the Celtics, 89-83 in Boston on Nov. 13 and have taken three of the last four meetings. Charlotte has won two in a row at home in this series.