Josh Smith on song as Atlanta Hawks hold off Boston Celtics; win 83 – 74 in game-1 – NBA Recap - Part 1
An exciting Eastern Conference first round playoff tie got off to a brisk start here as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Boston Celtics 83 – 74. Playing at the Philips Arena, the Hawks had a spring in their step right from the beginning and they held on for a well deserved win in the end.
Atlanta power forward Josh Smith was the star of the night as the forward scored game high 22 points. He also had an amazing 18 rebounds, his career post season high, to go along with 4 assists. The forward was a thorn in Boston’s flesh all night long, with the Celtics failing to contain him at either end.
Josh’s play earned him appreciation from his coach, who was sure the forward provided invaluable impetus for the win.
"He was an animal," Atlanta coach Larry Drew said. "When he's playing with that energy, he just makes us so much better."
Drew was also very pleased with the sharp start made by his side,
"We got off to a very fast start. I thought we did a good job pushing the tempo. Certainly that was a point of emphasis going into this game although as the game wore on, we didn't get out and run as much."
Kirk Hinrich also had a big night for the Hawks. He scored 12 points, all from beyond the arc, helping the team out at crucial intervals. Joe Johnson had 11 and 5 assists while Jeff Teague managed 15 points with 6 rebounds.
The Hawks came racing out of the blocks, a Joe Johnson layup igniting a 20 – 6 run that put them in control of the first quarter. A 9 – 2 burst later took them to 29 – 12, and the Hawks ended the first up at 31 – 18.
Boston made a better start to the second frame, which was slower than the first. The score was 36 – 25 though when Atlanta had an 8 – 0 sprint to make it 44 – 25, and they weren’t bothered afterwards as they went into the halftime break up at 49 – 35.
Tags: