ATLANTA: Kevin Garnett scored 10 of his 18 points in the final quarter and Atlanta's Joe Johnson missed a late free throw that would have tied it to help the Boston Celtics beat the Hawks 88-85 for their 16th straight NBA victory on Wednesday.

After Johnson missed with 2.7 seconds left, Ray Allen made a pair of free throws with 0.7 seconds left for the defending champion Celtics, who have a franchise-best 24-2 record. It was only the second loss in 10 home games for the Hawks.

Pierce added 18 points, and Allen had 16 for the Celtics.