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ATLANTA, Georgia: The Boston Celtics, who posted the
best regular-season record in the National Basketball Association,
were upset for the second game in a row by Atlanta, the worst team
to make the playoffs.
Joe Johnson scored 20 of his 35
points in the fourth quarter to spark the Hawks past Boston 97-92
Monday, leveling their Eastern Conference first round best-of-seven
series at two wins each.
Orlando became the first team to
reach the second round of the NBA playoffs, with Dwight Howard
scoring 21 points and grabbing 21 rebounds to lead the Magic past
Toronto 102-92 for a four games to one victory in their series.
The Magic will face the winner
between Detroit and Philadelphia.
But the East stunner came in
Atlanta, where the Hawks trailed 75-65 entering the fourth quarter
but outscored the Celtics 32-17 in the final 12 minutes thanks to
Johnson and Josh Smith, who combined for Atlanta’s last 34 points.
The Celtics claimed a home-court
edge throughout the NBA playoffs with a 66-16 record while the Hawks
had the worst record of any playoff team at 37-45.
But after two blowout victories
at home, the Celtics find themselves coming back to Boston level
with Game 5 Wednesday and Game 6 Friday at Atlanta. A seventh-game
would be Sunday in Boston if necessary.
The Boston-Atlanta winner will
face either Cleveland or Washington in the second round. The
Cavaliers lead Washington 3-1 in that series and host game five on
Wednesday.
Ray Allen led the Celtics with 21
points while Kevin Garnett added 20 points and Paul Pierce added 18.
Smith had 28 points and Mike
Bibby scored 18 points for the Hawks, who answered an 11-0 Boston
run with a 19-6 burst to reclaim the lead at 84-79, a Johnson
three-pointer ending the critical spurt.
Johnson scored 10 consecutive
Atlanta points to keep the Celtics at bay down the stretch, the last
of the run being a free throw for a 91-87 Atlanta lead with 39.7
seconds remaining after James Posey’s triple had pulled Boston
within three.
--AFP
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