The Boston Celtics will take on the Atlanta Hawks in NBA basketball that will be FREE live streaming online from the Philips Arena at 7:30 PM ET

Although they've clawed back recently to regain the edge for the Eastern Conference's final playoff spot, the Hawks stumbled back into some bad habits their last time out.

Now Atlanta hopes to bounce back while taking a step toward securing a postseason berth Wednesday night against a Celtics team that's trying to avoid matching the longest road skid in franchise history.

The inconsistent Hawks (34-43) seemed to be playing their way out of the postseason when they allowed 105.2 points per game in losses during a 6-20 stretch.

Though Atlanta appeared to get back on track by allowing an average of 96.5 points while winning three of its next four, it failed to get stops when it mattered Tuesday and was outscored 26-9 in second-chance points in a 102-95 home loss to Detroit.

They'll get another opportunity to pad their 1 1/2-game advantage over New York as they take on a Boston team that ranks near the bottom of the NBA with 95.7 points per game and is on the verge of equaling its longest losing streak of the season.

The Celtics (23-54) dropped their eighth in a row Saturday, failing to preserve a 19-point, third-quarter advantage in a 115-111 loss at Detroit. They had just 16 points in the fourth and did not score in the final three minutes.

The Hawks have dropped four of the last five meetings.

The game will be live streaming online at www.nbalivestreamfree.net