12:00 - Hawks get the ball first...and Marvin scores at the rim to cut it to one! LET'S GO HAWKS!10:56 - Marvin Williams is having the game of his life when the stakes are the highest. He grabs an offensive rebound and scores, putting the Hawks up a point for the first time since very, very early in this game.
10:25 - Al Horford, the hoop and the harm! I gotta say, I am very confused as to why Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen are not in this game right now. 86-84 Hawks!
8:59 - Ooooh, Bibby misses a 3 that would have blown the roof off this place, and Leon Powe answers to tie it at 86-86. It looks like the big guns are coming back in for Boston - no free rides for anyone in this one. I am so tense up here right now, I am literally shaking as I type - and there are still 9 minutes left! Thank god I'm still a young(-ish) man, or I'd be worried about my ticker.
8:52 - A tough break, as Marvin and Pierce bang knees and a gimpy Marvin has to head back to the locker room. He looks like he is in quite a lot of pain - hopefully he is ok and can get back in the game, because he is really having a positive effect on things tonight.
7:52 - Horford gets it deep in the post, and Posey fouls him. The more we do that, the happier I get. 2-2 at the line, and the Hawks regain the lead 90-89.
7:34 - The Hawks, they are making plays my friend! Bibby gets a steal off a terrific double-team of Garnett in the post, and Pierce picks up his fifth foul trying to defend Childress on the other end. Chills quietly has 13 points, and 1-2 at the line gives the Hawks a two-point lead, 91-89.6:49 - FTs, they are going to be huge down the stretch. JJ gets fouled by Allen going to the hole, and he buries a pair to give Atlanta the biggest lead of the game at 93-89. Timeout Celtics, and Philips is about to explode.
6:49 - While we are in a timeout, I checked the FT stats. ATL is 31-39 from the line for 79.5%. It just shows you how aggressive they have been tonight, which has been a huge, huge factor in the team's comeback. Marvin is back on the bench, but I haven't heard anything yet as to his status.?:?? - I can't handle the intensity right now.
4:44 - Josh Childress has always claimed that if the NBA had a lay-up competition, he'd win it. He just spidered a lay-up around Kevin Garnett for two. Amazingly, Paul Pierce got called for a push inside on Zaza, and that's it for him. Personally, I can't believe they called it (off the ball, after the basket), and neither could Pierce, who drew a tech on his way out. It's 96-89 Hawks right now, and I am losing my mind.
2:49 - A lot of time off the clock, but the Celtics hold tight and run off two straight buckets to cut the lead to 96-93. No time to take the foot off the gas, Atlanta. We need to keep scoring.
2:46 - Timeout Hawks. Hawks PR reports Marvin Williams has a left-knee strain and will not return. Since Pierce inflicted it on him by barreling into the lane, I consider his 6th foul tit-for-tat.
2:31 - Ray Allen fouls Bibby with the shot clock winding down, but Bibby misses the first. We gotta make these down the stretch - second is good and it's a two-possession affair, 97-93.
2:07 - Wheeeeeew. A big miss by Ray on one end, but Bibby misses on the other. Aye-ya-aye!
1:32 - Man - the Celtics just will not go quietly into that good night. They get what feels like 8 offensive rebounds in one possession, and Kendrick Perkins (?) makes a pair at the line to cut the lead to 2. Gotta score!
1:06 - Joe Johnson, I am going to name my first born child after you (sorry honey!). The Celtics can't ask for much more than for us to use up all the shot clock and end up with a long, contested 3, but JJ buries it anyway, making it a 5-point game with 1:07 left. Holy cow, what a huge shot. I know he doesn't have it in him, but I'd really like to see him wander over to Cassell and do the juevos shimmy in his face. This game ain't over, but that was as big a basket as Joe's hit all series - or season.
:45 - Posey for 3. Hawks must score.
:20.3 - Shoot! JJ comes up just short on a runner, and now the Celtics have the ball in hand, trailing by two, with basically the same time on the shot clock and game clock. This is Ray Allen time. Please, please watch Ray Allen.
10.6 - Allen misses a three! Hawks rebound! JJ is fouled, these are huge...
MAKES THE FIRST!
MAKES THE SECOND!
10.6 - Remember I told you I'd learn something interesting sitting next to Hollinger? Well he just showed me the shots for Ray Allen in the fourth quarter, and it goes something like this: Missed 3, Missed 3, Missed 2, Missed 2, Missed 3, Missed 3. 102-98 Hawks. It ain't over, but as long as they do their part from the foul line, they may actually pull this off.
8.7 - As I said, this thing ain't over. The Celtics inbound the ball to KG underneath the basket, who scores easily and takes only 2 seconds to do so. Gotta, gotta, gotta get the ball inbounds and hit a pair of FTs. Not over yet...
7.4 - Ok, Killer Mike at the line. Yipe! First one misses. Makes the second though...
0:00 - Rondo misses at the buzzer, and HAWKS WIN!
OH MY GOD THE HAWKS WIN! WE ARE GOING BACK TO BOSTON!
Ok, more later - heading to what should be a jubilant locker room!!!
