In the Eastern Conference hierarchy, the Magic have what the Celtics want and the Cavaliers have their attention. But it’s the Hawks that seem to bring out the best and the worst in the Celtics.

You could call it chippy. You could call it physical. Call it whatever you want but there’s a real edge when these two teams play. That’s not necessarily a bad thing either. The Celtics often play their best when they feel like they’ve been backed into a corner. But at times against the Hawks Friday night all that physical aggression resulted in some unseemly hoops.

The sequence went like this in a 93-85 Celtics loss: Bad first quarter, great second quarter, horrific third quarter, not good enough fourth quarter. “We played in spurts,” Doc Rivers told reporters after the game and he was right.

The reason for the loss was fairly atypical for the Celtics. It wasn’t turnovers or offensive rebounds that did them in, although they didn’t help. Rather, it was an unsightly 41 percent shooting percentage, and a lackluster game defensively.

This is developing into a good rivalry. Forget the playoff series from two seasons ago; that was another lifetime ago. The Hawks think they are on the level with the Celtics, and while they don’t have the playoff chops to prove it, they certainly have had their number in the regular season.

Here are three other things from the Celtics loss:

GET READY FOR MONDAY NIGHT

It wasn’t hard to read between the lines of Rivers’ post-game comments.

“We got out of this what we put into it,” he said.

And:

“We’re supposed to be the physical team. They’ve been far more physical than us. That’s twice Atlanta has been the better team.”

That’s about as close as Rivers gets to calling out his team. There were no fingers pointed. No individuals called on the carpet for their lackluster play. When Rivers is really trying to make a point to his team he generally sticks to the collective.

Make no mistake about this, though. Yes, they have a game against the Raptors on Sunday and, yes, the Celtics have typically been very good about not looking ahead, but Monday’s rematch with the Hawks at the Garden is going to be a good test for the Celtics.

That’s twice this season that the Hawks have run them over to start the second half, and that’s twice that Atlanta has handled the physical play better than the Celtics.

Rivers made note of his team’s inability to keep their composure when bodies started hitting the floor, and each other. True, nothing got out of hand. When Zaza Pachulia decked Paul Pierce on a layup, Pierce barely acknowledged his existence. But that’s where Pierce is right now in his career as a player.

There were far too many other instances of complaining about calls, waiting for whistles that never came and general disorganization once things got rough. When things broke down in the third quarter the Celtics stopped attacking the basket, a sure sign of passivity. (Josh Smith’s mega-block on a Kendrick Perkins dunk attempt may have had something to do with it too).

This is the time of the year when everyone starts to get a little cranky around the NBA and the Celtics can be as cranky as anyone, even on their good days. Rivers called them out on it. We’ll have to wait for Monday’s rematch to see if they respond.

PERK VS. HORFORD IS ONE TO WATCH

Take whatever matchup you want when the Celtics play the Hawks and there are great ones all over the floor. From Ray Allen vs. Joe Johnson to Rajon Rondo and Mike Bibby and Josh Smith against Kevin Garnett (when he’s healthy) matchups are what make compelling basketball and there isn’t a truly lopsided one to be found between these two teams.

The most overlooked one, however, might be in the post where Kendrick Perkins and Al Horford are developing into one of the top young center matchups in the East.

Perkins and Horford are part of a large group of Eastern Conference centers who wouldn’t look out of place on the All-Star team behind Dwight Howard. Both are complimentary players in the grand schemes of their teams, but both have also seen their roles, and their production, expand this season.

Give the slight edge to Horford last night, but only slight.

THE BENCH NEEDS SOME HELP

Injuries and illness haven’t just taken a chunk out of the starting five. The bench is starting to feel it as well.

With Rasheed Wallace in the starting lineup, Marquis Daniels still weeks away, Eddie House and then Tony Allen knocked out by the flu, and Glen Davis still working his way back into rhythm, the second unit has looked a little ragged at times.

This is the time of the year when contending teams start to take a look at what’s available around the league, and where they have holes to fill. From the moment this team was assembled the Celtics have had a hole behind Rajon Rondo at the point guard slot.

House does what he does, and he’s been terrific at his role as a shooter. Daniels has helped with the ballhandling, but even when he was healthy he’s not the long-term answer there.

So it made sense that Danny Ainge elected to waive Lester Hudson before his contract became guaranteed for the rest of the season. Fortunately for Hudson, the Grizzlies picked him up and he might have a chance to play some minutes and catch someone’s long-term attention.

Hudson did nothing wrong in his time in Boston, but it was always a longshot that he could become an integral part of the team’s rotation.

Don’t expect anything too exotic, but a number of teams might be willing to buy-out veterans in the coming weeks if they can’t find a trading partner and the Celtics now have a roster spot ready and waiting.