There was a prevailing thought that at least one of Kristaps Porzingis and Derrick White would sneak in and earn an All-Star selection this week as injury replacements for Joel Embiid and Julius Randle. But it didn’t come, as Trae Young and Scottie Barnes got the nod.

Neither Porzingis or White will complain about the snub. They’ll take the extra rest. Instead on Wednesday, the two Celtics showed what they really care about: Impacting winning.

It wasn’t especially pretty. It didn’t feature much defense. The Celtics and Hawks seemed like they were just exchanging layup lines for most of the night in a game that certainly resembled one being played a week before the All-Star break. But when it mattered, the Celtics emerged as the better team that they are. Fueled by a big fourth quarter from White, and another strong night from Porzingis, the C’s finally pulled away in the fourth quarter to secure a 125-117 victory.

Porzingis scored 31 points, and White added 21 points – which included four 3-pointers in the final period – as the Celtics improved to a league-best 39-12 record. After a first half that included several lazy spurts defensively, the C’s took control defensively in the second half. Saddiq Bey scored 25 points to lead six Hawks in double figures, but the Celtics limited Young, Atlanta’s engine, to just 20 points on 8-for-25 shooting, and never let him get comfortable down the stretch to pull out this win.

Al Horford had one of his best games of the season with 14 points, eight rebounds and eight assists with three blocks as the Celtics overcame below-average shooting nights from Jayson Tatum, who scored 20 points on 2-for-13 3-point shooting, and Jaylen Brown, who finished with 15 points and went scoreless in the second half.