Atkins shows colors

Almost a week after being traded from Detroit, Chucky Atkins made his debut with the Celtics. With his first appearance delayed by the removal of a lymph node near his collarbone, Atkins made up for lost time. The veteran point guard started and provided an immediate lift for the offense, finishing with 14 points and 8 assists in 43 minutes. But Atkins could not bring Boston its first win since Feb. 7 as the Bucks won, 106-104, last night at the Fleet.

"I felt pretty good," said Atkins. "I hadn't played in a week. It's just different out there playing 40 minutes, but I'll get used to it and we're going to get better. [Director of basketball operations] Danny [Ainge] brought me here because he knows the kind of style that I play. The guys did a great job of running. We were able to get fast-break points. Our main thing is we've got to get tough defensively now. We play good help defense, but man-on-man we've got to get better."

Offensively, Atkins sees his job with the Celtics as pretty simple.

"My whole thing is just to come out and grasp the concept of the offense and try to get into a rhythm and a flow," said Atkins. "That's all basically I can do right now. I've got to get the ball to Ricky [Davis] and Paul [Pierce] and Walter McCarty and Chris Mihm and Jiri Welsch and let them do what they do. It takes a week, about a week and a half [to adjust to new teammates]."

A first for Hunter

An hour before tipoff, Brandon Hunter learned he would get his first NBA start last night. The late second-round pick has come a long way from the days he spent on the injured list and the games he spent racking up DNP-coach's decisions. Hunter came through with career-highs in points (17), rebounds (9), and minutes (35). But he was disappointed he missed 7 of 12 free throws in a one-possession game.

"To go from injured reserve, to not playing, to starting, that's a good feeling for anyone," said Hunter. "I'm just trying to go out there and play as hard as I can. And hopefully, help my team get a victory."

While the Celtics did not win, Hunter may get more opportunities to help. Pierce called the "emergence" of Hunter a positive sign from last night's loss. Interim coach John Carroll said "it would be hard not to reward [Hunter] for the play that he had.

"I give him a lot of credit for sticking with it all year. I'm sure he's been a little disappointed in his playing time, but it's a credit to him that he has worked hard and he has kept himself in shape to be able to play those kind of minutes. And when he was called upon, he responded at a very high level for a young player."

Good news on Ford

Bucks coach Terry Porter on rookie guard T.J. Ford, who is on the injured list with a mild bruise of the spinal cord: "It's definitely a relief. It's still 2-3 weeks, but it's definitely a relief that it's not something more severe. I spoke with him and he's in very good spirits. He's walking around. He doesn't have a brace or anything on. He's just relaxing at home. He's not allowed to do much. He didn't say he was scared, but I'm sure he was." . . . A week after he became interim head coach, Carroll received a raise. Carroll wouldn't comment on the pay increase, but industry sources said the raise brings Carroll in line on a pro-rated basis with the lower-paid head coaches in the NBA . . . Assistant coach Frank Vogel missed last night's contest to be with his wife, Jenifer, who gave birth to the couple's first child, Alexa Marie, at 7:28 p.m.