It may not have been pretty, but the Boston Celtics closed-out the Atlanta Hawks in the 6th game of their first round series by a score of 83-80.  Although all the Celtics’ major stars showed up tonight, Kevin Garnett was the difference maker in this bout.  Garnett earned yet another double-double with 28 points and 14 rebounds.  This terrific performance by Garnett went even farther than the stat sheet, especially with his tenacity on defense including the Hawks star center Al Horford.  Other Celtics also contributed to the victory, including Rondo (14 points) and Pierce (18 points).

As for the Hawks, their efforts late in the game were valiant; however, it was not enough to force a game seven against the C’s.  Late game heroics by Hawks star players, including Joe Johnson (17 points), Jeff Teague (5 points), Josh Smith (18 points), and Al Horford (15 points), got them back in the game late (along with a questionable substitution of Marquis Daniels in the game), but clutch free-throws by Pierce and Ray Allen secured the Celtic victory.

The Celtics now look to their Eastern Conference Semi-Finals against the Philadelphia 76ers, who also beat their opponent (Chicago Bulls), on Saturday night in Boston.  The 76ers are the lowest seed in the Eastern Conference, so hopefully the Celtics will be able to handle them quite easily.