C's Breeze to Game 1 W

4/21/2008

C's Breeze to Game 1 W

While this series is far from over, the Celtics made a statement to the Hawks and the rest of the NBA in their playoff opener last night.



The Celtics, top seed in the Eastern Conference, grounded the eighth-seeded Hawks, 104-81, in Game 1 of their first-round series at TD Banknorth Garden.

The Celtics were competing in their first playoff game in Boston since May 5, 2005. Boston is now 4-0 against the Hawks this season, including three regular-season games.

Game 2 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night here.

Ray Allen scored 18 points for the Celtics, Paul Pierce had 16, and Kevin Garnett added 16 points and 10 rebounds as the Celtics' new Big Three continued its fine work from the regular season.

Celtics guard Rajon Rondo had played in two Southeastern Conference tournaments and five NCAA Tournament games during two seasons at Kentucky. But while driving downtown, the second-year point guard started getting a little excited about his first NBA playoff game.

When Rondo arrived at the Garden, he noticed there were a lot more people outside than normal, then he recalled Garnett telling him the playoffs had a different intensity. And once he got inside the locker room, he took a long shower to calm himself down.

Nearly every seat was filled as the national anthem was sung. As the Hawks were introduced, the Boston fans drowned it out by chanting, "Let's Go Celtics." The crowd roared when the Celtics were introduced, and the venue had a smoky haze for a while from pregame fireworks.

The Celtics jumped to an 11-2 lead after a Garnett jumper with 7:23 left in the first quarter. A Rondo floater gave Boston a 23-10 advantage with 4:52 left in the first. Six seconds later, a frustrated Hawks guard Mike Bibby was called for a technical.

Garnett went to the bench after picking up his second foul with Boston ahead, 26-17, with 1:57 remaining in the first. The Celtics finished the first quarter with a 29-21 lead.

Rondo and Pierce each scored 9 points in the first. Boston shot 45.5 percent from the field and was aided by three 3-pointers. Atlanta shot 43.8 percent from the field in the first and scored 10 points in the paint.

In the second quarter, a Marvin Williams jumper trimmed Atlanta's deficit to 29-27 with 10:39 left. But Sam Cassell scored 7 straight points to give Boston a 42-31 lead with 5:11 left in the second.

Garnett exited again, this time at the 4:04 mark in the second quarter, after picking up his third foul.

The Hawks' Joe Johnson nailed a 3-pointer to slice Boston's lead to 44-38, but the Celtics went into the locker room at halftime with a 49-40 lead.

Pierce had a game-high 13 points in the first half on 4-of-8 shooting and two free throws, but Garnett had only 8 points and was limited to 16 minutes because of the foul trouble.

Hawks rookie forward Al Horford scored a team-high 11 points by halftime.

Boston shot 41.5 percent from the field in the first half, but did nail 5 of 7 3-pointers. Atlanta shot 41.7 percent from the field before intermission and received only 2 points from Bibby on 1-of-5 shooting. He had only one assist.

Garnett's dunk over Josh Smith gave Boston a 55-42 lead with 9:25 left in the third quarter. Allen's 3-pointer pushed the Celtics ahead, 60-44, with 7:49 left in the third.

Allen's fourth straight basket, an 8-foot jumper with 5:40 remaining in the third, pushed Boston ahead, 67-49, and three straight Rondo baskets gave the Celtics a 73-55 lead with 10.9 seconds left in the third.

The Celtics outscored Atlanta, 24-15, in the third after shooting 50 percent from the field. Allen scored 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting in the third and nailed both 3-point attempts.

The Hawks were limited to 30.4 shooting from the field in the third, and they didn't attempt one free throw.

Leon Powe's reverse lay-in gave Boston a 20-point lead, 78-58, with 9:32 remaining in the fourth quarter, and Cassell's 3-pointer gave the Celtics an 87-66 cushion with 6:58 left to play.

Powe brought the crowd to its feet and drew a foul with a two-handed slam over Smith and Bibby with 5:53 left in the contest to give Boston a comfortable 90-68 lead.

The Celtics had no trouble finishing off the young Hawks, with Powe adding another monster jam minutes later.