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Celtics, Hawks meet for Game Seven

May 4, 2008 - 1:15 PM Atlanta at Boston 1:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference first round Series tied, 3-3

BOSTON (Ticker) -- The top-seeded Boston Celtics try to avoid suffering one of the biggest upsets in NBA history when they return home Sunday to face the eighth-seeded Atlanta Hawks for Game Seven of their Eastern Conference first-round series.

The Celtics posted a 66-16 record during the regular season - the league's best by seven wins. Conversely, the Hawks won just 37 games and snuck into the playoffs despite finishing eight games below .500.

As most expected, Boston jumped out to a 2-0 lead and, despite losing both Games Three and Four in Atlanta, forged a 3-2 series lead with a victory in Game Five.

But the Hawks pulled out a 103-100 victory in Game Six on Friday, pushing the series to a decisive Game Seven.

"Nobody expected us to be at this level," said Hawks center Al Horford, who had 16 points and five rebounds on Friday. "We have to continue this momentum that we have at home (in Boston)."

The Celtics have never lost a playoff series when leading 3-2 and are confident at home, where they posted a 35-6 record during the regular season.

"We're going home and our crowd will be behind us," Celtics guard Sam Cassell said. "There's still energy on the home court, but you have to expect the unexpected.

"We need our fans in Boston to be fired up for this game, but we need to be fired up, too. We've got one of the best records in the league at home, so we just have to go out there and do what we have to do."

Boston has continued to dominate at home during the playoffs, winning three games at the TD Banknorth Garden by an average of 22.0 points during the best-of-seven series.

If Atlanta was to prevail, it would be the second straight season a No. 8 seed would upset a No. 1 seed. The Golden State Warriors downed the Dallas Mavericks in the Western Conference first round last season - the only time the feat has been done in a best-of-seven matchup in NBA history.