ATLANTA (AP) — Larry Drew is returning for his third season as the Atlanta Hawks’ coach despite the team’s first-round exit from the playoffs.

The Hawks announced Friday the team is exercising its option on Drew’s contract for next season.

“Larry did an outstanding job this season in guiding our team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, despite a condensed schedule and unfortunate injuries,” said general manager Rick Sund.

“The Hawks have reached the postseason in each of his years on the bench, and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success.”

Drew led the Hawks to a 40-26 regular-season record before the team lost to the Boston Celtics in six games in the first round of the playoffs. It was a step back for the franchise after three straight second-round appearances.

Atlanta had the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference despite losing All-Star center Al Horford for all but 11 games of the regular season. Horford returned in Game 4 of the Celtics series.

The Hawks also lost Joe Johnson, Zaza Pachulia, Kirk Hinrich and other players for stretches of six or more games.

“This group, we never really got to show what we’re capable of,” Horford said last week.

Pachulia, who was Horford’s top backup, missed the Celtics series with a chipped bone in his left foot. Third-string center Jason Collins started the first four games of the series.

Drew said he and his staff “endured a lot of unexpected things.”

“Obviously when you lose an All-Star at the beginning of the season, you have to make some adjustments and you’ve got to kind of change your way of thinking of how you deal with the team now,” Drew said last week. “Certainly when you have factored a guy in for the entire season and then he won’t be there, you’ve got to change some things around, particularly the mindset of the rest of the team.”

Drew said he did a good job of keeping the team playing hard.

“It’s something I take a lot of pride in and spend a lot of time on,” he said. “Player relationships are very important and how you deal with it, how you deal with your best player all the way down to the guy who may not dress out during games.

“I thought I did a good job with that. I thought my staff did a good job with that. We can only control so much, but the one thing we tried to control is that those guys when they come to that gym they come out and play hard for you every single night, and I thought we got that.”

Drew is 84-64 in two regular seasons and 8-10 in the playoffs. The Hawks were 17-16 on the road this season, the team’s first winning record away from Atlanta in 13 years.

The team’s five starters and Pachulia are under contract for next season. Nine players are free agents, and Sund’s contract expires on June 30.

Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

ATLANTA (AP)

Larry Drew is returning for his third season as the Atlanta Hawks’ coach despite the team’s first-round exit from the playoffs.

The Hawks announced Friday the team is exercising its option on Drew’s contract for next season.

”Larry did an outstanding job this season in guiding our team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, despite a condensed schedule and unfortunate injuries,” said general manager Rick Sund.

”The Hawks have reached the postseason in each of his years on the bench, and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success.”

Drew led the Hawks to a 40-26 regular-season record before the team lost to the Boston Celtics in six games in the first round of the playoffs. It was a step back for the franchise after three straight second-round appearances.

Atlanta had the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference despite losing All-Star center Al Horford for all but 11 games of the regular season. Horford returned in Game 4 of the Celtics series.

The Hawks also lost Joe Johnson, Zaza Pachulia, Kirk Hinrich and other players for stretches of six or more games.

”This group, we never really got to show what we’re capable of,” Horford said last week.

Pachulia, who was Horford’s top backup, missed the Celtics series with a chipped bone in his left foot. Third-string center Jason Collins started the first four games of the series.

Drew said he and his staff ”endured a lot of unexpected things.”

”Obviously when you lose an All-Star at the beginning of the season, you have to make some adjustments and you’ve got to kind of change your way of thinking of how you deal with the team now,” Drew said last week. ”Certainly when you have factored a guy in for the entire season and then he won’t be there, you’ve got to change some things around, particularly the mindset of the rest of the team.”

Drew said he did a good job of keeping the team playing hard.

”It’s something I take a lot of pride in and spend a lot of time on,” he said. ”Player relationships are very important and how you deal with it, how you deal with your best player all the way down to the guy who may not dress out during games.

”I thought I did a good job with that. I thought my staff did a good job with that. We can only control so much, but the one thing we tried to control is that those guys when they come to that gym they come out and play hard for you every single night, and I thought we got that.”

Drew is 84-64 in two regular seasons and 8-10 in the playoffs. The Hawks were 17-16 on the road this season, the team’s first winning record away from Atlanta in 13 years.

The team’s five starters and Pachulia are under contract for next season. Nine players are free agents, and Sund’s contract expires on June 30.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

ATLANTA — Larry Drew is returning for his third season as the Atlanta Hawks’ coach despite the team’s first-round exit from the playoffs.

The Hawks announced Friday the team is exercising its option on Drew’s contract for next season.

“Larry did an outstanding job this season in guiding our team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, despite a condensed schedule and unfortunate injuries,” said general manager Rick Sund.

“The Hawks have reached the post-season in each of his years on the bench, and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success.”

Drew led the Hawks to a 40-26 regular-season record before the team lost to the Boston Celtics in six games in the first round of the playoffs. It was a step back for the franchise after three straight second-round appearances.

Atlanta had the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference despite losing All-Star centre Al Horford for all but 11 games of the regular season. Horford returned in Game 4 of the Celtics series.

The Hawks also lost Joe Johnson, Zaza Pachulia, Kirk Hinrich and other players for stretches of six or more games.

“This group, we never really got to show what we’re capable of,” Horford said last week.

Pachulia, who was Horford’s top backup, missed the Celtics series with a chipped bone in his left foot. Third-string centre Jason Collins started the first four games of the series.

Drew said he and his staff “endured a lot of unexpected things.”

“Obviously when you lose an All-Star at the beginning of the season, you have to make some adjustments and you’ve got to kind of change your way of thinking of how you deal with the team now,” Drew said last week. “Certainly when you have factored a guy in for the entire season and then he won’t be there, you’ve got to change some things around, particularly the mindset of the rest of the team.”

Drew said he did a good job of keeping the team playing hard.

“It’s something I take a lot of pride in and spend a lot of time on,” he said. “Player relationships are very important and how you deal with it, how you deal with your best player all the way down to the guy who may not dress out during games.

“I thought I did a good job with that. I thought my staff did a good job with that. We can only control so much, but the one thing we tried to control is that those guys when they come to that gym they come out and play hard for you every single night, and I thought we got that.”

Drew is 84-64 in two regular seasons and 8-10 in the playoffs. The Hawks were 17-16 on the road this season, the team’s first winning record away from Atlanta in 13 years.

The team’s five starters and Pachulia are under contract for next season. Nine players are free agents, and Sund’s contract expires on June 30.

ATLANTA (AP) — Larry Drew is returning for his third season as the Atlanta Hawks‘ coach despite the team’s first-round exit from the playoffs.

The Hawks announced Friday the team is exercising its option on Drew’s contract for next season.

“Larry did an outstanding job this season in guiding our team to the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference, despite a condensed schedule and unfortunate injuries,” said general manager Rick Sund.

“The Hawks have reached the postseason in each of his years on the bench, and we feel Larry’s experience, expertise and dedication to the game were a key ingredient to our success.”

Drew led the Hawks to a 40-26 regular-season record before the team lost to the Boston Celtics in six games in the first round of the playoffs. It was a step back for the franchise after three straight second-round appearances.

Atlanta had the fourth-best record in the Eastern Conference despite losing All-Star center Al Horford for all but 11 games of the regular season. Horford returned in Game 4 of the Celtics series.

The Hawks also lost Joe Johnson, Zaza Pachulia, Kirk Hinrich and other players for stretches of six or more games.

“This group, we never really got to show what we’re capable of,” Horford said last week.

Pachulia, who was Horford’s top backup, missed the Celtics series with a chipped bone in his left foot. Third-string center Jason Collins started the first four games of the series.

Drew said he and his staff “endured a lot of unexpected things.”

“Obviously when you lose an All-Star at the beginning of the season, you have to make some adjustments and you’ve got to kind of change your way of thinking of how you deal with the team now,” Drew said last week. “Certainly when you have factored a guy in for the entire season and then he won’t be there, you’ve got to change some things around, particularly the mindset of the rest of the team.”

Drew said he did a good job of keeping the team playing hard.

“It’s something I take a lot of pride in and spend a lot of time on,” he said. “Player relationships are very important and how you deal with it, how you deal with your best player all the way down to the guy who may not dress out during games.

“I thought I did a good job with that. I thought my staff did a good job with that. We can only control so much, but the one thing we tried to control is that those guys when they come to that gym they come out and play hard for you every single night, and I thought we got that.”

Drew is 84-64 in two regular seasons and 8-10 in the playoffs. The Hawks were 17-16 on the road this season, the team’s first winning record away from Atlanta in 13 years.

The team’s five starters and Pachulia are under contract for next season. Nine players are free agents, and Sund’s contract expires on June 30.

CBSSports.com wire reports
April 24, 2012

ATLANTA — Joe Johnson was just trying to hit the rim.

He wound up doing a lot better than that.

Johnson scored 28 points, including a desperate 3-pointer in the final minute, and the Atlanta Hawks held on for a 109-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, moving a step closer to wrapping up home-court in the first round of the playoffs.

Johnson hit a pair of treys coming down the stretch, but the one that really stood out came with 38 seconds remaining and the shot clock running down. From 30 feet away along the sideline, he flung the ball toward the basket with two hands. It somehow banked in to give the Hawks a 103-96 lead.

“The craziest I ever hit in a game” was how Johnson described it. “I had no clue how much time was left or what even happened,” he said. “I just heaved it up there. I wanted to at least hit the rim. I accidentally made it.”

Blake Griffin scored a season-high 36 points, while Chris Paul added 34 in a back-and-forth game in which neither team led by double figures until Atlanta went on a 15-2 run at the end of the third quarter, sparked by Jeff Teague and Josh Smith.

The Hawks can wrap up home-court advantage for their opening-round series against Boston by winning the regular-season finale against Dallas on Thursday. They’ll also clinch it if the Celtics lose that same night against Milwaukee.

Los Angeles is trying to hold on to the fourth seed — and home-court — in the West. The Clippers go into Wednesday’s finale at New York tied with the Memphis Grizzlies.

“I guess we just made it real interesting,” Paul said. “We’ve got to use this game [Wednesday] as a huge barometer as far as what it’s going to be like in the playoffs. In the playoffs you’re not going to be able to get down 10, 15 and try to come back in the fourth quarter, because the game’s going to be way too intense for that.”

This game was tied at 70 when the Hawks took control in the final 3:42 of the third. Teague scored seven straight points and got the best of his fellow Wake Forest guard at the defensive end, stuffing Paul on a drive to the hoop.

Teague stood over the Clippers’ star, smiling, but there was no bad blood. Paul hopped up to give the Hawks’ player a pat on the backside.

“It’s always fun to play against someone you know,” Teague said.

Paul hit a pair of free throws, before Smith responded with six straight points. The last of those came after Paul turned it over with an errant pass, sending Marvin Williams flying down the court on a fast break. He missed the drive, but Smith was there to clean up with a dunk.

Ivan Johnson closed the quarter with a pair of free throws, pushing the Hawks to an 85-72 lead.

Teague finished with 21 points, while Smith had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Los Angeles was essentially a two-man team. Griffin scored 16 of the first 21 points for the Clippers, while Paul scored 20 in the second half. It wasn’t enough, not against a much more balanced effort by the Hawks. Williams scored 11 to lead the Atlanta bench, which outscored the Los Angeles reserves 32-19.

“That’s what coach [Larry Drew] told us at halftime,” Teague said. “Blake and Chris are going to score the basketball. We just had to take care of everyone else.”

Teague was at the center of things coming down the stretch as the Clippers tried to close the gap. First, he leaped outside to block a 3-pointer by Caron Butler, sending the ball flying into the seats. Then, winding up in a mismatch with Griffin, Teague managed to hold his ground, knock the ball away and draw a foul on Griffin as they battled for the loose ball.

Teague jawed a bit with Griffin, Mo Williams stepped in and players from both teams got in the middle of things before the confrontation escalated.

“He had me in a headlock,” Teague said. “I was trying to get out of there, but he had me locked up pretty good.”

Griffin hit eight of his first nine shots while his teammates were missing seven of nine. His most spectacular basket wasn’t one of his thunderous dunks — instead, he drove under the hoop, then flipped the ball back over his head without looking, turning just in time to watch it drop in.

Los Angeles led 28-23 at the end of the opening quarter, but the Hawks’ reserves led the home team back. Ivan Johnson sparked a 14-2 run with a defensive play, stuffing Nick Young as he drove into the lane looking for a dunk. At the other end, Willie Green put up a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim, the backboard, the rim again and dropped through.

The Atlanta starters leaped off the bench to celebrate, while Green did a little hop and pumped his fist along the sideline.

“If you’re going to get over the hump in the playoffs, you’ve got keep advancing with the bench,” Joe Johnson said. “They’ve got to play a big role.”

Notes

• Before the game, the Hawks presented injured C Zaza Pachulia with the Jason Collier Memorial Trophy for his dedication to community service. The annual award is named after the late Hawks C who died in 2005 from a heart ailment at the age of 28. Collier’s widow, daughter and parents attended the ceremony.
• Early in the fourth, Green had a 3-pointer reduced to a 2 after the officials looked at the video replay during a timeout.

Joe Johnson scored 28 points, including a wild 3-pointer in the final minute, and the Atlanta Hawks held on for a 109-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, moving a step closer to wrapping up home-court in the first round of the playoffs.

Blake Griffin scored a season-high 36 points, while Chris Paul added 34 in a back-and-forth game in which neither team led by double figures until the Hawks went on a 15-2 run at the end of the third quarter, sparked by Jeff Teague and Josh Smith.

Johnson clinched it with a pair of 3s, knocking down a desperation shot with 38 seconds remaining and the shot clock running down. He threw up a two-handed heave that somehow banked in, giving the Hawks a 103-96 lead.

The score was tied at 70 when the Hawks took control. Teague scored seven straight points and got the best of his fellow Wake Forest guard at the defensive end, stuffing Paul on a drive to the hoop.

Teague stood over the Clippers’ star, smiling, but there was no bad blood. Paul hopped up to give the Hawks’ player a pat on the backside.

After Paul hit a pair of free throws, Smith scored six straight points, including a dunk after Paul turned it over with an errant pass. Marvin Williams led the fast break, missing on a drive to the hoop, but Smith was there to clean up.

Ivan Johnson closed the quarter with a pair of free throws, pushing the Hawks to an 85-72 lead.

Teague finished with 21 points, while Smith had 18 points and 10 rebounds.

Los Angeles was essentially a two-man team. Griffin scored 16 of the first 21 points for the Clippers, while Paul took control in the second half. But it wasn’t enough, not against a much more balanced effort by the Hawks. Williams scored 11 to lead the Atlanta bench, which outscored the Los Angeles reserves 32-19.

Atlanta would wrap up home-court advantage for its opening-round series with Boston if the Celtics lose or the Hawks win their regular-season finale against Dallas. The Clippers are trying to hold on to the fourth seed _ and home-court _ in the West. They’ll go into Wednesday’s finale at New York tied with Memphis.

Teague was at the center of things coming down the stretch as the Clippers tried to close the gap. First, he leaped outside to block a 3-pointer, sending the ball flying into the seats. Then, winding up in a mismatch with Griffin, Teague managed to hold his ground, knock the ball away and draw a foul on Griffin as they battled for the loose ball.

Teague jawed a bit with Griffin, Mo Williams stepped in and players from both teams got in the middle of things before the confrontation escalated.

Griffin hit eight of nine shots while his teammates were missing seven of nine. His most spectacular basket wasn’t one of his thunderous dunks _ instead, he drove under the hoop, then flipped the ball back over his head without looking, turning just in time to watch it drop in.

Los Angeles led 28-23 at the end of the opening quarter, but the Hawks’ bench led the home team back. Ivan Johnson sparked a 14-2 run with a defensive play, stuffing Nick Young as he drove into the lane looking for a dunk. At the other end, Willie Green put up a 3-pointer that bounced off the rim, the backboard, the rim again and dropped through.

The Atlanta starters leaped off the bench to celebrate, while Green did a little hop and pumped his fist along the sideline.

NOTES: Before the game, the Hawks presented injured C Zaza Pachulia with the Jason Collier Memorial Trophy for his dedication to community service. The annual award is named after the late Hawks C who died in 2005 from a heart ailment at the age of 28. Collier’s widow, daughter and parents attended the ceremony. … Early in the fourth, Green had a 3-pointer reduced to a 2 after the officials looked at the video replay during a timeout.

AP PHOTO
The ball gets away from Boston’s Marquis Daniels, left, and Atlanta’s Willie Green Friday in Atlanta.

ATLANTA (AP) — When the Boston Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, it might have been a precursor to an NBA playoff series, but it certainly didn’t qualify as a “preview.”

Joe Johnson scored 30 points as Atlanta edged the short-handed Celtics 97-92 to take a step toward securing a home-court edge against Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

But the Celtics hardly looked like themselves.

Starters Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and key reserves Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus did not play. On top of that, there wasn’t much defense from either team in the first half as Atlanta took a 58-49 lead.

Johnson scored 23 points, Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 and both teams combined to make 23 of 38 shots over the first two quarters (60.5 percent).

Rondo, Allen and Pietrus stayed in Boston with injuries, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave Garnett and Pierce rest after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Still, Boston had more energy even with several rarely used players getting big minutes, and the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter before Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead.

The Hawks held on, but they were not so happy about it afterward.

“For us, it definitely sits a little uneasy,” Johnson said. “I don’t feel like we brought our ‘A’ game.”

Bradley, who moved into Allen’s starting spot at the shooting guard

position several weeks ago when Allen began battling problems with a surgically repaired ankle, moved into Rondo’s point guard position and gave the Hawks fits.

He scored 12 points in the first quarter and surprised the Hawks in a variety of ways while besting his previous career high of 23 points.

“When . . . you come out and pretty much right before the game find out that (Garnett and Pierce) are not going to play . . . I don’t know if it does something to you mentally, but it makes them that much (more) unpredictable,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds.

“Bradley played outstanding for them. I didn’t know he had that much in his game.”

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat Friday, especially when Keyon Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said he considered leaving Johnson and Smith on the bench late in the interest of getting them some rest, but the prospect of moving toward home-court advantage came into play. They each played 5:22 in the final quarter as the unsung Celtics made life difficult.

“That was certainly wavering,” Drew said. “It was a situation of making a decision of just trying to solidify the home court position.”

Dooling finished with 17 points, and Marquis Daniels added 12.

The Hawks (38-25) have the fourth-best record in the East, which as long as they finish with a better record than Boston (37-27) would give them home court in a 4-5 match-up against the Celtics even though the Celtics are going to be considered a top four seed by virtue of having clinched the Atlantic Division title.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed (behind the Pacers) and gain home court against Atlanta by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

The Celtics may be back to full roster strength in time for their game in Boston on Tuesday against the Heat.

“It has to help our team in the long run,” Rivers said of resting key players. “I just think when your team plays like that it gives (reserves) a lot of confidence, and it gives the guys that didn’t play a lot of confidence in them, which is huge.”

Notes: Hawks starting C Zaza Pachulia missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left foot. In his place, Jason Collins had a season-high eight points and seven rebounds. . . . The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 C-F Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for Dallas. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He had a rebound in 3-plus minutes Friday. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured C-F Jermaine O’Neal.

Joe Johnson scored 30 points, and the Atlanta Hawks edged the short-handed Boston Celtics 97-92 last night to take a step toward landing homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hawks (38-25) are in line to be the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and Celtics (37-27) are on track to be No. 5. This, however, looked nothing like a playoff game early.

Both teams shot over 50 percent and Atlanta took a 58-49 halftime lead while Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 points.

Boston left Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus at home with injuries, and perennial All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce made the trip to Atlanta but Celtics coach Doc Rivers rested both stars after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Even without five players who either start or play big minutes, the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter.

Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead, and the Hawks held on for their first win in three games against Boston. Josh Smith had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, and Keyon Dooling scored 17 points for the Celtics.

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat yesterday, especially when Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

Should Atlanta finish with a better record that would supersede Boston’s division title in determining home court in a head-to-head playoff matchup.

NOTES: The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 center-forward Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, also averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for the Dallas Mavericks. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured center-forward Jermaine O’Neal. . . . The Celtics may be back to full roster strength for their next game, Tuesday against the Heat in Boston.

Joe Johnson scored 30 points, and the Atlanta Hawks edged the short-handed Boston Celtics, 97-92, on Friday night to take a step toward landing homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

The Hawks (38-25) are in line to be the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, and Celtics (37-27) are on track to be No. 5. This, however, looked nothing like a playoff game early.

Both teams shot over 50 percent and Atlanta took a 58-49 halftime lead while Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 points.

Boston left Rajon Rondo, Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus at home with injuries, and perennial All-Stars Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce made the trip to Atlanta, but Celtics coach Doc Rivers rested both stars after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Even without five players who either start or play big minutes, the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter.

Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead, and the Hawks held on for their first win in three games against Boston. Josh Smith had 19 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta, and Keyon Dooling scored 17 points for the Celtics.

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat Friday, especially when Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

Should Atlanta finish with a better record that would supersede Boston’s division title in determining home court in a head-to-head playoff matchup.

Notes: The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 C-F Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, also averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for the Dallas Mavericks. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured C-F Jermaine O’Neal. . . . The Celtics may be back to full roster strength for their next game, Tuesday against the Heat in Boston.

The Associated Press

When the Boston Celtics played the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night, it might have been a precursor to an NBA playoff series, but it certainly didn’t qualify as a “preview.”

Joe Johnson scored 30 points as Atlanta edged the short-handed Celtics 97-92 to take a step toward securing a home-court edge against Boston in the first round of the playoffs.

But the Celtics hardly looked like themselves.

Starters Rajon Rondo, Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnett and key reserves Ray Allen and Mickael Pietrus did not play. On top of that, there wasn’t much defense from either team in the first half as Atlanta took a 58-49 lead.

Johnson scored 23 points, Boston guard Avery Bradley scored 17 of his career-high 28 and both teams combined to make 23 of 38 shots over the first two quarters (60.5 percent).

Rondo, Allen and Pietrus stayed in Boston with injuries, and Celtics coach Doc Rivers gave Garnett and Pierce rest after playing 11 games in 15 days.

Still, Boston had more energy even with several rarely used players getting big minutes, and the Celtics pulled within one point five times in the fourth quarter before Johnson’s three-point play with 1:56 left gave Atlanta a 90-86 lead.

The Hawks held on, but they were not so happy about it afterward.

“For us, it definitely sits a little uneasy,” Johnson said. “I don’t feel like we brought our ‘A’ game.”

Bradley, who moved into Allen’s starting spot at the shooting guard position several weeks ago when Allen began battling problems with a surgically repaired ankle, moved into Rondo’s point guard position and gave the Hawks fits.

He scored 12 points in the first quarter and surprised the Hawks in a variety of ways while besting his previous career high of 23 points.

“When . . . you come out and pretty much right before the game find out that (Garnett and Pierce) are not going to play . . . I don’t know if it does something to you mentally, but it makes them that much (more) unpredictable,” said Hawks forward Josh Smith, who had 19 points and 12 rebounds.

“Bradley played outstanding for them. I didn’t know he had that much in his game.”

The Hawks lost a home game earlier this season when Miami Heat stars Dwyane Wade and LeBron James did not play, and there was danger of a repeat Friday, especially when Keyon Dooling scored on a layup with 2:33 left to close the deficit to 87-86. Johnson’s three-point play came moments later.

Hawks coach Larry Drew said he considered leaving Johnson and Smith on the bench late in the interest of getting them some rest, but the prospect of moving toward home-court advantage came into play. They each played 5:22 in the final quarter as the unsung Celtics made life difficult.

“That was certainly wavering,” Drew said. “It was a situation of making a decision of just trying to solidify the home court position.”

Dooling finished with 17 points, and Marquis Daniels added 12.

The Hawks (38-25) have the fourth-best record in the East, which as long as they finish with a better record than Boston (37-27) would give them home court in a 4-5 match-up against the Celtics even though the Celtics are going to be considered a top four seed by virtue of having clinched the Atlantic Division title.

If the teams finish with the same record, Boston would be considered the fourth seed (behind the Pacers) and gain home court against Atlanta by virtue of being a division champion. Plus, the Celtics beat the Hawks in two of three regular-season meetings.

The Celtics may be back to full roster strength in time for their game in Boston on Tuesday against the Heat.

“It has to help our team in the long run,” Rivers said of resting key players. “I just think when your team plays like that it gives (reserves) a lot of confidence, and it gives the guys that didn’t play a lot of confidence in them, which is huge.”

Notes: Hawks starting C Zaza Pachulia missed his fourth straight game with a sprained left foot. In his place, Jason Collins had a season-high eight points and seven rebounds. . . . The Celtics signed 6-foot-10 C-F Sean Williams, who averaged 15.2 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.5 blocked shots for the Texas Legends of the D-League. Williams, who played at Boston College, averaged 3.6 points and 1.6 rebounds for Dallas. He was drafted by the Nets 17th overall in 2007, and has career NBA averages of 4.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.2 blocks. He had a rebound in 3-plus minutes Friday. To make room, Boston requested waivers on injured C-F Jermaine O’Neal.
 

Detroit Pistons at Atlanta Hawks

When: 7:30 p.m.

Where: Philips Arena

Records: Pistons 23-38 (fourth
in Central); Hawks 36-25 (second in Southeast).

Last game: The Pistons outscored
the Cleveland Cavaliers 39-12 in the third quarter, led by 50 points
going into the fourth quarter, and shot 60 percent for the game
Tuesday, in a season-best 39-point blowout, 116-77. The Hawks got a
career-high 21 points from Ivan Johnson on Monday in Toronto, and
beat the Raptors, 109-87.

Pistons probable starters:
Austin Daye, 6-11, 200 (Gonzaga); Jason Maxiell, 6-7, 260
(Cincinnati); Greg Monroe, 6-11, 250 (Georgetown); Rodney Stuckey,
6-5, 205 (Eastern Washington); Brandon Knight, 6-3, 189 (Kentucky).

Hawks probable starters: Joe
Johnson, 6-7, 240 (Arkansas); Josh Smith, 6-9, 225 (Mouth of Wilson,
Va., Oak Hill Academy); Jason Collins, 7-0, 255 (Stanford); Kirk
Hinrich, 6-4, 190 (Kansas); Jeff Teague, 6-2, 181 (Wake Forest).

Fast
facts: The teams play for the fourth and final time, with the
Hawks holding a 2-1 season series lead. … The Hawks won the most
recent meeting 101-96 on April 6 here. … The teams split a pair of
meetings in Auburn Hills, with the Pistons winning 86-85 on March 9
and the Hawks winning 107-101 in overtime on Jan. 27. … Center Zaza
Pachulia has been starting most of the season for injured Al Horford
(left pectoral surgery), but is suffering from a sprained left foot
and won’t play. … For the Pistons, Daye starts, Tayshaun Prince won’t play, Ben Wallace is inactive, and Vernon Macklin is active and will play backup power forward. … The Hawks are the fourth-place team in the
Eastern Conference and would play a first-round playoff series
against the red-hot Boston Celtics if the season ended today. … The
Hawks are 34-5 when scoring 90-plus points. … The Pistons play the
second game of a back-to-back-to-back tonight, with the finale
Thursday at home against Minnesota.

Frank-ly speaking:
“Unfortunate circumstance. Not the first time it’s happened, and
it won’t be the last. That doesn’t make it easy on anyone. But at
the end of the day, that’s my job. You’ve got to make those
decisions. They’re not easy ones but that’s what you’ve got to do.”
– Lawrence Frank, on the
decision to keep Charlie Villanueva out of the rotation most of the
season, even after one of the Pistons’ highest-paid players returned
from a lengthy absence with an ankle injury.

TV:
Fox Sports Detroit

Email David Mayo
at dmayo@mlive.com and follow him on Twitter at
twitter.com/David_Mayo

The plane bringing them home from south Florida arrived in Massachusetts shortly before 3 o’clock on Wednesday morning.

A weary group of Celtics should have been savoring an impressive road victory over the Miami Heat, but there were other pressing matters at hand.

They had sleep to catch up on, and they had yet another game – the fourth in five nights – against the well-rested and younger Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday evening.

The Celtics have been rolling along since the All-Star break with very few stumbles, but here they were smack in the middle of a seemingly no-win scenario.

A fatigued, veteran team playing on fumes against a team that had been idle since Saturday night certainly didn’t appear to add up in the Celtics’ favor?

So how to explain what happened at the TD Garden where the Celtics continued their amazing late-season charge by willing themselves to an 88-86 overtime victory over the Hawks?

How to explain the Celtics not having a letdown after their emotional win in Miami or keeping the victories coming despite having Ray Allen (sore right ankle) unavailable?

“It just says we have great character, a tough-minded group,’’ said coach Doc Rivers after his team won for the 11th time in the last 14 games. “They really are.

“You could see they wanted to win the game so bad and you could see the way we played. Going into it, what I told the coaches is we’ve got to just keep it close, hang around for the fourth quarter.’’

Said Brandon Bass after contributing 21 points and 10 rebounds: “I think Doc came in and laid it out and let us know that there were no excuses tonight. Everybody’s tired, but he told us to just go out there and fight and do what we do every night – and that’s grind.’’

This should have been the night the Celtics, winners of four in a row and 19-7 since the break, took the foot off the gas. They should have been sitting ducks for the Hawks, who were in need of a win over the Celtics to avoid losing a potential tiebreaker.

Instead, the Celtics fought through layer after layer of adversity with Rajon Rondo (another triple-double with 20 assists, 10 rebounds and 10 points on a night when he missed 13 of 16 shots), Kevin Garnett (22 points, 12 rebounds), Bass, Paul Pierce (14 points) and Mickael Pietrus (a key performer in his return from a concussion) leading the way.

They were obviously a step slower, were battling fatigue and had to overcome two offensive foul calls in the final minute of overtime.

“This team has resolve,’’ said Rivers. “They figure it out. They like each other and I think that allows us to win games on certain nights we shouldn’t win.

“I think this team has a resolve about them that allows them to stay in games that I think other teams would let go of the rope.’’

The rejuvenated Garnett was again superb and Rondo extended his streak of double-digit assists games to 19, second only to John Stockon’s 29.

“Rondo was sensational,’’ said Rivers. “He didn’t want to come out. He said, ‘Because we’ve got tomorrow off, let me just go.’

“I know he’s on a run. I know he’s playing very well. I don’t need the numbers to tell me that. He’s just playing extremely well. He’s been spectacular. It’s not just him. It’s everybody.’’

Even on weary legs and fresh off an emotional win more than 1,500 miles away the previous night, the Celtics still managed to open eyes. They went 5-2 in an 11-day stretch against teams with winning records and are now tied with the Hawks and Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference while owning tiebreakers over both.

“You think about your summer workouts and these are the things that help you in moments like this,’’ said Garnett of pushing through the way the Celtics did. “You see doubt, it’s right in front of you and you go right through it. We were able to stay strong and fight through fatigue and make plays when we had to.’’

Elton Brand scored 13 of his season-high 25 points in the fourth quarter to lead the Philadelphia 76ers to a 95-90 comeback win over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night.

Andre Iguodala scored 18, and Brand had 10 rebounds to go with his 10-for-12 shooting.

Coming off a 21-point loss to lowly Washington on Friday that knocked them out of first place in the Atlantic Division and down to No. 7 in the Eastern Conference, the Sixers earned a hard-fought win against a team ahead of them in the standings.

Josh Smith led Atlanta with 34 points and Joe Johnson had 15. The Hawks have lost three of four after winning four straight.

The 76ers pulled within a half-game of Boston in the Atlantic. They had been in first place _ either alone or tied _ since Dec. 28, but fell behind after losing six of nine. They’re seeking their first division title since Allen Iverson led them to the NBA Finals in 2001.

Brand took over with Philadelphia trailing 68-62 in the fourth quarter. He scored eight points during an 11-4 run that put Philadelphia up 73-72. Brand had two three-point plays in that stretch. He hit another short jumper to extend the lead to 77-73, then had two key assists after getting double-teamed inside. Brand fed Jrue Holiday for a 3-pointer that made it 80-75, then found Iguodala open for another 3 to increase the lead to 83-77.

Brand grabbed an offensive rebound, got fouled driving to the basket and made a free throw. He got another offensive rebound off his miss on the second attempt, and Philadelphia led the rest of the way.

After the Hawks got within 88-86 on Marvin Williams’ 3, Brand nailed a 14-footer to give the Sixers a 4-point cushion with 1:30 left.

The Sixers are 9-14 after a 20-9 start. They haven’t had a winning record since the 2004-05 season.

Atlanta is one game up on Philadelphia for the sixth spot in the East.

Down 39-34 in the second quarter, the Sixers finished with a 9-2 run to take a 43-41 lead into halftime. Iguodala hit a 3-pointer to start it off and ended the run with a turnaround jumper.

Notes: The Sixers won the season series 3-0. … Hawks F Jerry Stackhouse missed the game because of a family emergency. … Hawks F Tracy McGrady didn’t make the trip because of an illness. … The Sixers have held opponents under 100 points in 21 of the past 22 games. … The Hawks are 20-5 when Smith scores 20 or more points. … Earlier in the day, the Flyers lost 4-3 to Ottawa in a shootout in a day-night, two-sport doubleheader at the Wells Fargo Center.