NBA: Celtics fall 1 1/2 games behind Cavaliers for East lead with loss to Hawks

Paul Millsap scored 26 points, Tim Hardaway Jr. added 23 and the Atlanta Hawks snapped a two-game skid with a 123-116 victory over the visiting Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Isaiah Thomas scored 35 points, Jae Crowder had 24 and Marcus Smart 18 for the Celtics. They have dropped two in a row after winning five of seven, when they claimed the top spot in the Eastern Conference standings. Boston now trails the Cleveland Cavaliers by 1 1/2 games, but is still two games ahead of third-place Toronto.

Rookie Taurean Prince finished with a career-high 20 points, and Dennis Schroder added 18 for Atlanta. The fifth-place Hawks, who had lost nine of 11, moved one game ahead of Milwaukee. The regular season ends next week.

Schroder made a straightaway three-pointers to make it 116-107 with 2:07 remaining before Thomas’ corner three-pointer with 55.3 seconds left to cut the lead to five. The Celtics didn’t get any closer the rest of the way.

Chicago 102, at Philadelphia 90: Jimmy Butler had 19 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists and helped give Chicago’s playoff hopes a needed boost. The Bulls, Miami and Indiana entered the night with 38-40 records and in a three-way tie for seventh in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Butler had his fourth career triple-double. Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot led the 76ers with 18 points.

Washington 106, at New York 103: Bradley Beal scored 25 points and made the tiebreaking three-pointer with 49 seconds left in the Wizards’ victory. John Wall contributed 24 points and eight assists for Washington, which blew a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter but recovered to improve to 48-31. Carmelo Anthony scored 23 points for the Knicks.

at Indiana 104: Milwaukee 89: Paul George had 23 points and 10 rebounds as the Pacers kept their playoff hopes alive. Jeff Teague added 15 points and seven assists for the Pacers. Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists.

at Orlando 115, Brooklyn 107: Elfrid Payton had 22 points, 11 assists and five rebounds to lead the Magic to victory. Aaron Gordon added 21 points, Jodie Meeks had 20, and Nikola Vucevic finished with 18 points and 12 rebounds for Orlando. Jeremy Lin led Brooklyn with 32 points.