Celtics Soar Past Hawks 101-79

Celtics Soar Past Hawks 101-79

If you were waiting for the real Boston Celtics to show up for their Eastern Conference Quarterfinal round series with Atlanta, wait no longer. The Celts played well from start to finish Sunday night as the dropped the hammer on the Atlanta Hawks 101-79 in game 4 to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.

Boston came out firing early shooting 67% from the field in the first quarter. Paul Pierce scored 10 of his game-high 24 points in the first helping Boston take a commanding 32-19 lead after one.

The Celtics extended their lead to 64-41 at halftime but went to the locker room concerned because Pierce had limped off the floor before half time after twisting his left knee.

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The captain was fine as he picked up right where he left off in the second half. For the game, he went 10-13 from the field including 4-6 from three all in just 17 minutes of action.

Rajon Rondo had 20 points and 16 assists before going to the bench midway through the 4th. Kevin Garnett had 13 points and 5 rebounds 27 minutes of play while Ray Allen chipped in with 12 off the bench in his 19 minutes of play.

The blowout allowed Celtics’ coach Doc Rivers to rest his starters who logged too many minutes in Boston’s overtime win in game 3.

Josh Smith’s 15 points led Atlanta. Joe Johnson was held to just 9 points.

The Celtics can close out the Hawks Tuesday night in Atlanta. If they do, they would meet the winner of the series between Philadelphia and Chicago in the conference semifinals. The 76ers enjoy a 3-1 series lead over the banged-up Bulls in their opening round playoff series.