ATLANTA (AP) — After letting the series go longer than it should have, Al Horford and the Boston Celtics were eager to finish off the Atlanta Hawks.
Horford made sure his former team didn’t force a Game 7.
The 36-year-old Horford hit a huge 3-pointer in a late run that carried the Celtics past the Hawks 128-120 Thursday night for a 4-2 triumph in the opening-round playoff series.
After squandering a 13-point lead in the fourth quarter of Game 5, which cost them a chance to end the series in Boston, the Celtics were determined not to wilt again.
Down by three, Boston ripped off an 11-0 run that included three straight 3-pointers, with Horford’s big shot sandwiched around 3s from Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown.
Tatum capped the spurt with a dunk off a Horford miss, giving the Celtics a 121-113 lead with 2:07 remaining.
Given how close it had been all night, an eight-point lead seemed like 80 in a game that featured 22 lead changes and 15 ties.
The second-seeded Celtics advanced to face the third-seeded Philadelphia 76ers, who’ve been resting since completing their four-game sweep of Brooklyn last Saturday.