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Upstart Hawks go for series lead in Boston

Apr 30, 2008 - 1:52 PM Atlanta at Boston 8:30 pm EDT Eastern Conference first round Series tied, 2-2

BOSTON (Ticker) - The Boston Celtics were supposed to cruise right through the first round. Unfortunately for them, no one told the Atlanta Hawks.

The top-seeded Celtics and eighth-seeded Hawks return to Boston for Game Five on Wednesday with their Eastern Conference first-round series tied at two games apiece.

Atlanta entered the series as a 70-to-1 underdog. Even after their 13-point win in Game Three, the Hawks were nine-point underdogs on their home floor on Monday.

"Everybody said that we were going to get swept," Williams said. "When everybody is betting against you, it's easy. When nobody expects you to win, it's easy. We knew what we could do. We got the best team in the NBA at 2-2."

Joe Johnson poured in 20 of his 35 points in the fourth quarter and Josh Smith added 28 and seven blocks to lead Atlanta to another stunning 97-92 upset of the Celtics during Game Four on Monday.

Mike Bibby scored 18 points and rookie Al Horford grabbed 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who rallied from 10 points down in the fourth to tie the series.

"I just wanted to try to be the aggressor," said the two-time All-Star Johnson of his fourth-quarter eruption. "I knew that we were down by 10. Somebody had to step up. If I'm going to be the All-Star on this team, I have to step up. And I did."

Johnson, a former Celtic who is averaging 22 points per game in the playoffs, believes his team has shown its maturity this season by evening the series with a pair of victories at home.

"It shows a lot of character on this team," Johnson said. "Before, if we were down, we wouldn't have ever come back. (On Monday), we got down big twice and we responded. It shows a lot of character and growth of this team."

The Celtics, who boasted the best defense in the NBA this season, are looking to bounce back at home after surrendering a combined 199 points over the last two games.

"I wasn't real pleased with the defense," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "Overall, there were too many breakdowns that are preventable."

"Defensively, we didn't do a great job when (Johnson) got into our paint," Celtics guard Ray Allen said. "(The Hawks) came down and adjusted well to what we were doing. We now need to re-adjust."