Category: Boston Celtics Blog

The AP reports: The Celtics are still the obvious favorite, having won all three games at their place by an average of 22 points. But the Hawks have lasted longer than anyone would have expected… The Celtics looked as shell-shocked as anyone. Paul Pierce fouled out and spent the final minutes on the bench with a towel draped over his head, barely able to watch… Marvin Williams led the Hawks with 18 points despite missing much of the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee. Kevin Garnett had 22 for the Celtics and Ray Allen added 20, but Pierce—the other member of Boston’s Big Three—fouled out on a disputed call with 4:44 remaining… Joe Johnson, who went to the final period with just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, came alive in the fourth. He saved his biggest shot for the end, getting James Posey in the air with a pump fake before hitting Atlanta’s only 3-pointer of the game to make it 100-95… Atlanta got double figures from every starters. Besides Williams’ 18, Bibby had 17, rookie Al Horford 16, Johnson 15, and Smith—who played less than 30 minutes because of foul trouble—finished with 11. Off the bench, Childress had 15 points and six rebounds, while Pachulia contributed nine points and six rebounds.

The AP reports: Takedowns and menacing gestures. Double technicals and flagrant fouls. And the Boston Celtics are heading to Atlanta to try to deliver the knockout punch. Paul Pierce scored a playoff-high 22 points, and Ray Allen turned back the final Hawks’ charge with three 3-pointers in a three-minute span of the third quarter on Wednesday night to help Boston beat Atlanta 110-85 and take a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven series. The first five games have all gone to the home team, with Game 6 in Atlanta on Friday night… Kevin Garnett scored 20 and Allen had 19 to put the Celtics within a victory of advancing to the second round. Boston got a huge lift from its bench in the second quarter, when Sam Cassell scored nine points and Leon Powe had seven with five rebounds while holding Al Horford to a pair of baskets… Joe Johnson, who erupted for 35 points in Game 4—20 of them in the fourth quarter—scored 21, and Horford had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta. Mike Bibby continued to struggle in Boston, scoring six while recording one assist for the third straight road game… The Celtics took a 58-43 halftime lead, holding Atlanta without a field goal for more than seven minutes before Horford’s putback dunk with 1:05 left in the second quarter. Pierce drove for a layup to start the second half, then Atlanta scored the next 11 points to pull within 60-54.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Celtics shot 53.6%, the Hawks just 40.6%. Boston nailed 9-of-20 threes (Ray Allen 5 threes), the Hawks just 4-of-13. The Hawks spent plenty of time shooting free throws, hitting 25-of-29 to Boston’s 11-of-15. Boston controlled the boards and dominated the assists category (Mike Bibby had just 1 assist). For the Celtics, Paul Pierce had 22 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Kevin Garnett had 20 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists and 3 blocks. Ray Allen (5-of-8 threes) scored 19. Sam Cassell (6-of-8) scored 13, and Rajon Rondo had 12 points, 4 rebounds and 7 assists. For the Hawks, Joe Johnson had 21 points but little else. Josh Smith had 18 points, 5 rebounds and 3 steals. Al Horford (7-of-11) had 14 points, 10 rebounds and a team-high 5 assists (but 3 turnovers). Marvin Williams had 12 with little else. Mike Bibby shot 2-of-8 for 6 points and more turnovers than assists.

The AP reports: Forget about a Boston sweep. The Hawks are headed back to Beantown all tied up with the mighty Celtics. Joe Johnson scored 35 points—20 in the fourth quarter—and Josh Smith added 28 points and seven blocks for Atlanta, which surprised the Celtics again 97-92 on Monday night to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece… The credit for this Atlanta stunner goes largely to Johnson, who took control in the final quarter. After Smith’s jumper put the Hawks ahead to stay 81-79, Johnson scored nine straight points to keep the Celtics on the ropes… Josh Smith set an Atlanta playoff record with seven blocks, the last of them a key swat on Garnett after he backed down in the lane, looking for the easy shot, with just over 3 minutes left… The Hawks led 51-48 at halftime, only to put themselves in another hole with a dismal third quarter. Standing around on offense and doing little to create shots, Atlanta was 6-of-17 from the field, missed all seven of its 3-point attempts and turned it over seven times, giving Boston plenty of easy baskets.

InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: The Hawks shot 47.8%, the Celtics 41.2%, though Boston took 85 shots while Atlanta only took 67. And the Celtics rocked from outside, nailing 12-of-23 three-pointers, while the Hawks were just 4-of-18. But Atlanta hit 29-of-33 free throws, Boston just 10-of-18, and that was the difference. Rebounds were almost even, and the Celtics dished more assists. For the Hawks, Joe Johnson (14-of-24) had 35 points and 6 assists (but 4 turnovers). Josh Smith (8-of-16, 12-of-13 free throws) had 28 points, 6 rebounds and 7 blocks. Mike Bibby (5-of-8) had 18 points and more turnovers than assists. Al Horford shot badly for 4 points but grabbed 13 rebounds. For the Celtics, Ray Allen (8-of-14) had 21 points and 4 assists. Kevin Garnett needed 21 shots for 20 points, 9 rebounds and 6 steals. Paul Pierce (5-of-14) had 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Rajon Rondo needed 16 shots for his 14 points and 12 assists.

The AP reports: Give Josh Smith a perfect 10 in his personal dunking contest. And give the Atlanta Hawks some credit: The team that was supposed to get swept by big, bad Boston in the opening round of the playoffs pulled off a win that was nine years in the making. The high-flying Smith scored 27 points and the Hawks earned their first playoff victory since 1999, beating the Celtics 102-93 Saturday night to cut Boston’s lead in the series to 2-1… “We’re not satisfied,” said Joe Johnson, who added 23 points for Atlanta… The Hawks took control in the third quarter, outscoring the Celtics 28-18 and limiting Boston to 5-of-21 shooting. Atlanta went on to its first playoff win since May 16, 1999, a Game 5 clincher over the Detroit Pistons… Rookie Al Horford was a force on the inside. He had 17 points, 14 rebounds, six assists and showed he wasn’t afraid of the mighty Celtics, jawing with Paul Pierce in the final minute. Kevin Garnett led Boston with 32 points, but the NBA’s youngest playoff team had him kneeling over, looking totally exhausted, by the end of the game.

The AP reports: Rajon Rondo outplayed Mike Bibby and helped the Boston Celtics silence Atlanta and its blustery point guard. Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 10 rebounds, and Rondo added 12 points, eight assists and six rebounds to lead Boston to a 96-77 victory over Atlanta on Wednesday night and a 2-0 lead in the first-round series. Paul Pierce returned from a first-quarter knockdown to score 14 points, and Kendrick Perkins added eight points and nine rebounds for the Celtics. Josh Smith, who helped take Pierce down and appeared to land on him and roll over his head, had 13 points and eight rebounds for Atlanta. But it was Bibby, who called the locals fair-weather fans during the week, who drew the ire of the sold-out Boston Garden crowd… The Hawks came out feisty and physical. Just 82 seconds in, Joe Johnson fouled Pierce to keep him from an easy layup. Smith came in from the side and slammed Pierce to the floor and landed on top of his chest before rolling over his head.

InsideHoops.com Notes: Bibby shot 2-of-7 for 12 points and just one assists. The entire Hawks team had just 10 assists, while the Celtics had 23. The Celtics had 15 steals, the Hawks just 4. The Hawks didn’t hit a single three-pointer.