The Atlanta Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics in a potential playoff matchup 97-92, and even though the win puts the Hawks 1.5 games ahead of the Celtics in the Eastern Conference standings the Hawks are still the No. 5 seed since the Celtics lead the Atlantic Divison. After a strong first half, the Celtics made a run in the third quarter to make it a three point game heading into the fourth quarter.
The Celtics made it interesting in the fourth quarter but the closest the Celtics would get would be one point, and each time that happened the Hawks would extend the lead to a few points. The Hawks put the game away on a 7-2 run to lead by six points with 1:29 left in the game before ultimately winning by five points.
The Hawks offense did fairly well tonight and they were saved by their three-point shooting which was 9-for-17 on the night as well as their free throws, both were more than the Celtics and was the difference in the win.
Joe Johnson led all scorers with 30 points and Josh Smith scored 19 points, pulled down 12 rebounds and had three blocked shots.
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