Atlanta's coach Mike Woodson viewed this game as a measuring stick for his squad. The Hawks measured up well with the Celtics and won, 97-86. Atlanta led 72-70 after three quarters and outscored the veteran C's crew 25-16 in the fourth. Former Celtics player Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 24 points. Jamal Crawford added 18 points. Paul Pierce led Boston with 24. Pierce went to the floor once, came up limping, went to see the trainer, and returned with a brace thing on his leg. Boston dropped to 8-2 with their second home loss of the season. Comcast Sportsnet said the second home loss of 2008-09 took place on January 7. If you're wondering how the rag-tag Hawks won, check the box score and look for "Rebounds." Or, go with Kevin Garnett, who said Atlanta simply "beat us."

Boston Seventh Strangest City in U.S.
The boy is counseling the man. Except that Rajon Rondo's now The Man. It's confusing. Anyway, Rondo told Kevin Garnett late in last night's game to "relax a little bit" (yeah, good luck with that), and an inspired KG helped carry the C's down the stretch to another nailbiting win versus the Hawks.
There are some games the Celtics need to read the papers to get motivated for. Tonight is not one of them. The Atlanta Hawks, as you well know, improbably stretched the C's to the limit in the first round of the playoffs last year, taking every game in Atlanta, where they meet tonight. And it took some
Update: KG just gave a shove to Pachulia of the Hawks, and he's been taken out.