BOSTON — Mike Bibby can talk about the Celtics fans all he wants now, because it doesn’t look like the Hawks will be coming back to Boston.
Rajon Rondo silenced Atlanta’s blustery point guard — on the court, at least — and Kevin Garnett had 19 points and 10 rebounds Wednesday night as Boston beat the Hawks 96-77 to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.
Rondo scored 12 points with eight assists and six rebounds, and Paul Pierce returned from a first-quarter knockdown to score 14 points.
“They are coming at us a little bit,” said Boston’s Ray Allen, who scored 15 points. “You knew what time it was, you knew what they were going to try to do. They were going to attack. And we had to attack right back.”
The series moves to Atlanta for Games 3 and 4 on Saturday and Monday. The Hawks need to win one — and they haven’t beaten the Celtics in five tries this year — to force the series back to Boston.
“This has been an experience,” said Josh Smith, who had 13 points and eight rebounds. “When we return home, we are going to need our fans as much as ever.”
Smith helped take Pierce down, landing on him and rolling over his head just 82 seconds into the game. Pierce left for the rest of the first quarter, getting a rubdown for what the team said was a lower back strain; he returned for the start of the second quarter.
But it was Bibby who drew the ire of the sold-out Boston Garden crowd.
The Hawks guard called the locals fair-weather fans during the week and he was booed at every touch from the opening introductions.
