Celtics - Getting Inside

Dominique Wilkins likes the way his Hawks battled back in their series against the Celtics. But Atlanta director of basketball also thinks the Celtics deserve some of the credit.

The Hawks trail the series, 3-2, with Game 6 Friday. But the Celtics have had trouble in Atlanta recently, and the Hawks hope they’re looking ahead to the second round.

“I think teams sometimes take other teams for granted,” Wilkins told the Boston Herald before Game 5 Wednesday. “You get an eighth-seed team that’s kind of limped into the playoffs, and you tend to let your guard down a little. You know, you win the first two games and all of a sudden you say, ‘OK, we’ll cruise through the rest of this.’

“And I think that’s what happened. But our young guys didn’t read the same newspaper about quitting. They came out and they just played hard. They played hard and they played together. The only thing I told them is they just have to win one game—the one they’re playing.”

The fact the Celtics won 66 games this season—29 more than the Hawks—would seem to be an issue.

“You know what? From a regular season standpoint, you’re absolutely right,” Wilkins said. “That’s a team that’s better record-wise, on paper and everything else. But the playoffs is a different animal. Anything can happen, and we’ve seen that over the years—especially last year with the Dallas Mavericks and the Golden State Warriors, where (the Mavericks) took them for granted.

“I think the thing that Dallas did that was wrong was that they changed their game plan. They changed their game plan to matchup up to them instead of making them matchup to the Mavericks. You know, you can’t change what’s been working all year for you. You can’t do that.”

Celtics 110, Hawks 85: The Celtics continued to dominate at home in this series, although winning in Boston by an average of 22.3 points has given them just a 3-2 lead over the Hawks in the first round matchup.

Wednesday night at the Garden, the Celtics ran off six straight points after falling behind 8-7 and never looked back. Stumbling momentarily only in the third quarter, they blitzed the Hawks, shooting 53.6 percent from the floor and holding their guests to 40.6 percent marksmanship.

Paul Pierce has a game-high 22 points, while Kevin Garnett added 20 to go with five rebounds, seven assists and three blocks.

Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 21 points.

“Well, obviously a better game,” said Doc Rivers. “The execution was as crisp and as sound as we’ve had in a month and the defense was terrific. We were trapping, smothering and we didn’t make a lot of adjustments. We just did what we should do and we did it well.”

Notes, Quotes

• After refusing to comment for two days, Paul Pierce finally issued a statement regarding the $25,000 fine he was assessed by the league for making a “menacing gesture” in Game 3. The league evidently interpreted his signal as being gang-related.

This is the text of Pierce’s statement:

“I don’t want to take the focus away from the playoffs. In sports, emotions run high. After playing for 10 years in Boston, I think the Celtics fans know that I am a passionate player.

“I—100 percent—do not in any way promote gang violence or anything close to it. I am sorry if it was misinterpreted that way in Saturday’s game.

“In fact, through my Truth Foundation, I am committed to giving back to youth groups and making sure young people have the opportunities to succeed in life. I am extremely proud of the work I have done through the foundation to provide positive influences and safe havens for inner-city kids.”

• Doc Rivers had a message for fans who were seeking out space on Boston-area bridges after his team lost two straight in Atlanta.

“Don’t jump,” he said. “Please don’t jump. I ain’t going to save you, but don’t jump. That’s what I would tell them.”

Rivers also told his players not to rely on homecourt advantage.

“I told our guys this,” Rivers said, “because I could hear them in the locker room, saying, ‘Hey, guys, don’t worry. We go back home. Everything will be OK.’ And I said, ‘Listen, you’ve got to go make it OK. Don’t just rely on going home. You’ve got to go make it OK.’

“And I think we will, but I don’t just want to rely on that.”

Quote To Note: “We showed him a different look here and there.”—James Posey, on defending Joe Johnson, who had gone for 35 points in Game 4 but made just six field goals Wednesday.

Roster Report

Rotation: Point guard Rajon Rondo, Shooting guard Ray Allen, Small forward Paul Pierce, Power forward Kevin Garnett, Center Kendrick Perkins. Bench—Guard Eddie House, Forward James Posey, Guard Tony Allen, Guard Sam Cassell, Forward Leon Powe, Forward Glen Davis, Forward P.J. Brown, Forward Brian Scalabrine, Guard Gabe Pruitt.

Player Notes:

• F Leon Powe was back in prime-time off the bench, going for 10 points and seven rebounds in 23 minutes after Kendrick Perkins got in early foul trouble.

• G Sam Cassell made eight of 22 shots in the first four games, but he canned six of eight Wednesday on the way to 13 points.

• F James Posey did well in his defensive stints on Joe Johnson, and he made two of three treys.

• G Ray Allen hit just one of six shots from inside the arc, but he made five of his eight three-pointers Wednesday.