Celtics - Getting Inside

The Celtics have won themselves a second-round date with the Cavaliers, and they’re hoping that playing against a more accomplished opponent will be good for them.

It was clear the Celtics took Atlanta lightly at times on the way to being pushed to seven games.

“They’re a group that’s the defending champs, and to do anything you’ve got to go through them and deal with that,” said Kevin Garnett, referring to Cleveland. “LeBron (James)’s playing at a high level right now. It’s good that we have home-court advantage, and overall I think it should be a good series. Obviously, they’re trying to figure out some things with their new group, but they’re playing really well and I’m sure they’re playing at a high level. And as we say in our locker room, our gas is high and our confidence is high, too, so it should be a good series.”

The Celtics certainly respect this opponent.

“Well, the Cleveland Cavaliers are the Eastern Conference champs from a year ago, the team that went to The Finals,” said Paul Pierce. “So we know it’s going to be a tough road, and you’ve got to go through the Eastern Conference champs—a team that has a lot of experience, a team that has been to The Finals and that knows what it takes.

“We’re still learning as a group, so this going to be the ultimate test. You have one of the top players in the league coming in, one of the top teams in the league coming in who’s been there and done that, so we’ve definitely got our work cut out for ourselves. We have to be ready, simple and plain.”

Celtics 99, Hawks 65: The Celtics removed any doubts early, taking an 11-point lead after one quarter and cruising to a Game 7 victory over the Hawks Sunday afternoon in Boston.

Taking their home-court advantage seriously, the Celts won their four games in Boston by an average just over 25 points.

Paul Pierce had a game-high 22 points, while Kevin Garnett added 18. Both were able to rest in the last quarter as the rout was completed.

“I just told them after the game that that was the Celtics,” said Doc Rivers. I thought obviously that we played terrific basketball. The defensive energy was off the charts, and the offense was great.”

The Celtics held the Hawks to 29.3 percent shooting from the floor.

Notes, Quotes

• After leading the Celtics to the win, Paul Pierce ended his self-imposed silence. He hadn’t spoken since after Game 4, the night he learned he’d been fined $25,000 for a menacing gesture in the previous game.

“Me and the stuff that was going on with myself, I just didn’t want to be a distraction to what we was trying to accomplish,” he said. “My whole focus was just (on), game in and game out, what we were trying to do.

“I just needed to take a step back to myself and not really be a distraction to others… I just didn’t want to bring that attention back on my team, so we could just focus on playing basketball.”

• Kevin Garnett said he didn’t sleep Saturday night, but Doc Rivers had no problem.

“I told (Garnett) I slept 10 hours,” Rivers said. “I took an Ambien and I was out like a rock. It was great… I told him that when I was a player, I didn’t sleep. It’s a little different.”

Quote To Note: “The performance tonight is very typical of what we have done all year.”—Ray Allen, after Game 7.

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:

• G Ray Allen made just two of 13 treys in the last two games of the series.

• F Kevin Garnett went to the basket a lot more in Game 7, hitting nine of 13 shots.

• F-C Leon Powe managed 12 points in 20 minutes, combining with Kendrick Perkins for 22 points in the pivot.

• G Rajon Rondo completed the series with 51 assists and just seven turnovers.