Milt Palacio in many ways might be a throwback to a more modest NBA era. Quiet and workmanlike, he's unlikely to attract the headlines.

But, as he showed Saturday night in Atlanta, if you back off him too often you risk paying a high price. Palacio scored 15 points in 17 minutes in the Celtics' 112-103 loss. While he understands his job is to distribute the ball, he's more than willing to punish teams who take him lightly.

``I really concentrate on shooting the ball in practice and I really worked on that during the summer, so if I get a good look I'm going to knock it down,'' said Palacio, who scored two points - well below his 7.9 average - in seven minutes in last night's 92-85 loss to the Hawks.