Boston Celtics, Atlanta Hawks | featured news

Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 14 rebounds, hitting a jumper to give Boston the lead with 31 seconds left, and the Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks 83-80 in Game 6 on Thursday night to win their first-round playoff series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the fifth straight year.

Al Horford missed most of the season. Now that he's back, the Atlanta Hawks center wants to keep it going as long as he can.

Paul Pierce scored 24 points in 18 minutes and the Boston Celtics opened a 37-point third-quarter lead before coasting to a 101-79 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Sunday night to take a 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Celtics coach Doc Rivers looked at his aging team at the end of regulation, and he wasn't encouraged by what he saw. "They didn't look fresh," he said Friday night after Boston beat Atlanta 90-84 in overtime to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series. "And, honestly, I looked at the other team – they looked pretty bad, too. So that made me feel a little bit better."

Josh Smith scored 22 points and grabbed 18 rebounds, leading the Atlanta Hawks to an 83-74 victory over Boston in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference playoffs Sunday night, the final minute turning ugly when Celtics star Rajon Rondo was ejected for bumping an official.

Kevin Garnett had 17 points and 13 rebounds — one of three Boston players with a double-double — to lead the Celtics to their 12th straight win, 102-90 over the Atlanta Hawks on Thursday night.