BEIJING, May 4 -- This was supposed to be the biggest mismatch of the playoffs, the series that would surely be four and done. Well, look who's still alive in the opening round - the Atlanta Hawks. While all the other series are finished, Atlanta has improbably forced a Game 7 with the Boston Celtics, whose 66-win regular season suddenly looks a lot less impressive as they struggle to put away the sub-.500 Hawks.
Atlanta won for the third straight time on its home court, a 103-100 victory on Friday night that sent the series back to Boston one more time for a decisive game tomorrow. (Www.hxen.com)
"They are playing great," Boston coach Doc Rivers said. "They're athletic. They're playing with energy. We have to match that."
While the Celtics looked a bit shell-shocked after their third loss to the Hawks in seven days, they insisted their confidence wasn't shaken. After all, they won the first three games in Boston by an average of 22 points ?? and they're heading home.
"No one has lost a home game," Rivers said. "That's why home court is so important."
Also on Friday night, Utah closed out its series against Houston in Game 6 with a 113-91 victory. LeBron James had a triple-double and Cleveland ended its series against Washington, with a 105-88 win in Washington.
The Hawks, just 37-45 during the regular season and making their first playoff appearance in nine years, sure took advantage of their place. Streamers again poured from the rafters at Philips Arena while the record crowd of 20,425 chanted, "Seven! Seven! Seven!"
"I feel very good," said Zaza Pachulia, a little-used center who's making quite an impact in this series. "You've got to be able to win on the road. We've lost three in a row. We should be able to win one up there. It would be sad if we lost four in a row."
Marvin Williams led the Hawks with 18 points despite missing much of the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee. Kevin Garnett had 22 points for the Celtics and Ray Allen added 20, but Paul Pierce - the other member of Boston's Big Three - fouled out on a disputed call with 4:44 remaining.
"It's definitely a dream," Atlanta's Josh Smith said.
Joe Johnson, who went to the final period with just seven points on 3-of-9 shooting, saved his biggest shot for the end. He got James Posey in the air with a pump fake before hitting Atlanta's only 3-pointer of the game to make it 100-95 with 1:07 left.
Posey returned the favor by making a tough 3 from the wing with 48 seconds left, and the Celtics had a chance when Johnson missed a runner in the lane.
Wanting to finish off the Hawks, Boston drew up a play to give Allen a look from beyond the arc. He missed; Johnson got the rebound, was fouled and hit two free throws with 10.6 seconds left.
After a quick basket by Garnett, Mike Bibby made only one of two free throws with 7.4 seconds to go, giving the Celtics a shot at overtime. But the Hawks kept the ball from Allen and Posey, forcing Rajon Rondo to launch a long 3 that didn't even hit the rim as the horn sounded.
Atlanta got double figures from every starter. Besides Williams' 18, Bibby had 17, rookie Al Horford 16, Johnson 15, and Smith - who played less than 30 minutes because of foul trouble - finished with 11.