Atlanta Hawks, Nba Playoffs | 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.

Carlos Boozer scored 23 points, Rose doled out 12 assists in more of a supporting role and the Bulls cruised past the Atlanta Hawks 93-73 on Thursday night, wrapping up the East semifinals in six games.

Derrick Rose scored 33 points, Luol Deng added 23 and the Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 95-83 in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday night to take a 3-2 lead.

NBA referee Bennett Salvatore acknowledged Sunday that he blew a call in the closing minutes of Atlanta's 100-88 victory over the Chicago Bulls, which evened the Eastern Conference semifinal at two games apiece....

Josh Smith had 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists, and Jeff Teague came up with another big game to lead the Atlanta Hawks past the Chicago Bulls 100-88 Sunday night, evening the Eastern Conference semifinals at two games apiece.

Newly crowned MVP Derrick Rose scored 25 points, Joakim Noah added 19 points and 14 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls beat the Atlanta Hawks 86-73 in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Wednesday night to tie the series.