IN A NUTSHELL
Last time the Boston Celtics took on the Atlanta Hawks, the blowout result was predictable, though it didn’t come quite as easily as such lopsided wins can. Atlanta, still unmistakably bad and rebuilding, came to the Garden more prepared and looked it once they made it past the first quarter. The second frame…was a lot less fun as a result.
Then it went all Boston for a third quarter in which our heroes obliterated the visiting bird flock in a manner less numerically superior but far more humiliating, including a truly thrilling defensive performance by Rob Williams.