Dejounte Murray scored a career-high 44 points, including a game-winning jumper in the final second of overtime, to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 123-122 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.
Murray scored all 11 of Atlanta’s points in the extra period, giving the Hawks their second victory over Boston in four days.
With 6 seconds remaining in overtime, Jaylen Brown hit the go-ahead jumper, giving Boston a 122-121 lead. Murray replied with a jumper over Jrue Holiday.
Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 24 points and De’Andre Hunter added 21 points and 13 rebounds as Atlanta won its fourth straight game, matching its season-long streak.
Jayson Tatum led Boston with 31 points and 13 rebounds. Kristaps Porzingis scored 20 points, while Brown got 18.
Murray was listed as questionable due to lower back pain before being cleared to participate.
On Monday night, the Hawks trailed the Celtics by 30 points before recovering to win 120-118. It was Atlanta’s largest comeback victory since at least the 1997-98 season.
Before Thursday night’s game, Boston coach Joe Mazzulla claimed he wasn’t concerned about how his players would react to the surprising setback, which ended the Celtics’ nine-game winning streak.
“No, not really,” Mazzulla replied. “They responded already the way they came out and practiced yesterday.”
Mazzulla has cause to be optimistic about his team, which has the NBA’s best record and has already secured the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference.
Atlanta has the final play-in position in the East. If the Hawks advance from the play-in tournament, they will most likely face the Celtics in the first round of the playoffs.
No remarkable comeback was required in the teams’ second meeting in four days. In the first period, Boston led by eight points, 23-15.
Boston forward Al Horford (left big toe sprain) did not play.
Onyeka Okongwu, a Hawks forward, missed his fourth consecutive game due to a left big toe strain. The Hawks announced Wednesday that forward Saddiq Bey, who was already out for the season, underwent surgery in New York to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
All-Star point guard Trae Young (finger) and big Jalen Johnson (right ankle) have missed the last 17 and eight games, respectively. Young was penalized for a technical foul from his bench place in the second period after Murray hit a three-pointer.
A Hawks fan wearing a Hunter jersey made a halfcourt shot at halftime and won $10,000.
The Celtics travel to New Orleans on Saturday night for the fifth game of a six-game trip.The Hawks will host Milwaukee on Saturday night.