Atlanta Hawks (6-2) at Boston Celtics (8-1), 8 p.m.

Sports Network | November 13, 2009

(Sports Network) - A pair of division leaders riding two-game winning streaks get together tonight in Beantown, where the Boston Celtics will welcome the Atlanta Hawks to TD Garden.

The Celtics are off to another hot start at 8-1 and have won consecutive games since their only loss of the season versus Phoenix on November 6. They just handed the Utah Jazz a 105-86 defeat on Wednesday after a few days off, as Kevin Garnett led seven players in double figures with 18 points and Rajon Rondo added 14 points and 11 assists in a winning cause.

"It was huge," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of the layoff. "And I don't think it was the rest, it was more the practice. I just thought the execution tonight was absolutely fantastic, especially the beginning of the game."

Ray Allen had 15 points, Paul Pierce netted 13 and Rasheed Wallace contributed 12 off the bench for Atlantic Division-leading Boston, which got 10 points and eight rebounds out of Kendrick Perkins and shot 53.2 percent from the field, including 7-of-19 from three-point territory. Pierce is listed as probable for tonight with a laceration on his face.

Atlanta has won two straight and four of five games, including Wednesday's 114-101 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

Al Horford scored a game-high 25 points and pulled down nine rebounds, while Josh Smith added 22 points and 12 rebounds for the Southeast Division-leading Hawks, who have won six of their first eight games to begin the season. Mike Bibby chipped in 19 points and nine assists, and Joe Johnson netted 19 and seven boards in the win.

"They were kind of handling us at the beginning," Bibby said. "This was a game we definitely needed to win, and we put it on our selves to go out and get it."

The Hawks, who are averaging 107.8 points per game and shooting 48.2 percent from the floor this season, will try to stop a seven-game losing streak to the Celtics on Friday.

Atlanta is winless in its last five trips to Beantown.