ATLANTA — Refusing to let go of their first trip to the playoffs in nine years, the Atlanta Hawks forced an improbable deciding game with the Boston Celtics when Joe Johnson hit a crucial 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining and Atlanta held on for a 103-100 victory Friday night.
The Hawks, just 37-45 during the regular season, have now beaten the Celtics three times in the space of a week to set up a deciding game in a series that was supposed to be a sweep. After all, Boston went an NBA-leading 66-16 and defeated Atlanta in all three meetings before the playoffs.
But, against all odds, the Hawks are heading to Boston for Game 7 on Sunday.
“Seven! Seven! Seven!” chanted the record crowd of 20,425 at Philips Arena.
The Celtics are still the obvious favorite, having won all three games at their place by an average of 22 points. But the Hawks have lasted longer than anyone would have expected.
“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.”
The Celtics looked as shell-shocked as anyone. Paul Pierce fouled out and spent the final minutes on the bench with a towel draped over his head, barely able to watch.
Marvin Williams led the Hawks with 18 points despite missing much of the fourth quarter with a sprained left knee. Kevin Garnett had 22 for the Celtics and Ray Allen added 20, but Pierce — the other member of Boston’s Big Three — fouled out on a disputed call with 4:44 remaining.
Jazz 113, Rockets 91
SALT LAKE CITY — Deron Williams scored 13 of his 25 points in the decisive third quarter, as Utah knocked Houston out of the playoffs in the opening round for the second straight year.
The Jazz, which won the series 4-2, will open the second round on the road Sunday against the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tracy McGrady scored 40 for the Rockets, but could not beat the Jazz by himself and fell to 0-7 in playoff series.
Luis Scola was the only other Rockets player in double figures with 15 points. The Rockets lost point guard Rafer Alston to sprained ankle late in the second quarter and the offense never recovered.
Jazz fans once again taunted McGrady with the chant “Over-rated!” then replaced it with “Beat L.A.!” as the fourth quarter wound down.
McGrady finished 13-for-26 and tried to carry the Rockets, but few of his teammates climbed aboard. McGrady pushed the Rockets through the end of the second quarter, going on a 9-0 run and scoring 13 straight for Houston while cutting a 17-point lead to 58-54 at halftime.
Mehmet Okur had 19 points and 13 rebounds for the Jazz, and Carlos Boozer added 15 points and 10 boards. Andrei Kirilenko scored 11 points and Williams added nine assists.
Cavaliers 105, Wizards 88
WASHINGTON — LeBron James compiled 27 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists for his third career playoff triple-double as Cleveland ended its contentious series with the Washington in six games.
It was the third consecutive season the Cavaliers eliminated the Wizards — ending each of those series on Washington’s home floor.
The Cavs’ Wally Szczerbiak scored a career playoff-best 26 and reserve Daniel Gibson had 22 as the two combined for 10 of Cleveland’s 11 3-pointers.
James’ triple-double was accomplished before the third quarter was over, and he dished out more assists than the entire Wizards team (11).
Antawn Jamison led Washington with 23 points and 15 rebounds.
The Associated Press
