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Momentum tips toward Atlanta

Submitted by SHNS on Tue, 04/29/2008 - 14:33

ATLANTA -- The series may be four games old and neither team owns a critical victory but right now the Atlanta Hawks seem to have the Boston Celtics back on their heels. After two momentum-filled wins at Philips Arena, it is the Hawks who probably can't wait to get the Celtics back on the floor in Game Five Wednesday night at TD Banknorth Garden in Boston. The Celtics whipped the Hawks twice in Boston but several cracks in the NBA's best regular-season team have opened during the last two games here. Whether the Hawks can transfer their inspired play to New England remains to be seen. "It's win or go home," said Atlanta guard Mike Bibby. "We have not been playing good on the road, but we have been playing together on both ends (of the court) here at home. When we do that, we have good games." Boston's Ray Allen said the events of the last two games have put the Celtics' into crisis mode. "We always said a series starts when you win on the other team's floor," said Allen. "There's a serious nature of business we have to attend to now." Paul Pierce said the difference in the Celtics' two wins and two losses clearly lies on the defensive end of the floor. When Boston keeps Atlanta's stars in control, it can dominate. If not, all bets are off. "You definitely want to be in better position going home, but they played great, man," said Pierce. "Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Al Horford, Mike Bibby - they really came with it these last two games on their home court where they're comfortable. We have to figure out a way to slow them down."E-mail Kevin McNamara at kmcnamar(at)projo.com(Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, www.scrippsnews.com.)