In fact, the Hawks nearly pulled this one out, taking the lead on Marvin Williams's 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds to go. Then, the Celtics set up Pierce off a Kevin Garnett screen, Pierce going to the right of the lane, just in front of the Celtics' bench, lofting a 16-footer over Horford.
"Once I went right, I had the big guy [Horford] on me, I sort of got to my sweet spot," Pierce said. "The play was to get the ball to Kevin, and if they switched off, either hand off or he would take the drive down the lane. But they switched and put Horford on me and I knew I could get to my spot."
The Celtics equaled their nine-game pace of last season, clamping down defensively and concluding the second quarter with a 23-7 run following a timeout with 7:02 remaining, extending their winning streak to six games.
"I told them to play together," coach Doc Rivers said of the timeout. "Everyone was thinking of putting a shot up instead of playing together."
The pep talk worked, the Celtics then converting two 3-pointers and two 3-point plays in a 4:12 period to start a rally. The Celtics scored only once from the field in the final 2:30 of the half, but it was a spectacular Garnett 3-point play dunk off a Rajon Rondo lob, providing the Celtics with a 51-50 lead with 33 seconds remaining.
The Celtics appeared to have momentum, then the Hawks started the second half without Pachulia - yet, despite a size disadvantage and a 14-9 rebounding deficit in the quarter, the Hawks took a 77-76 lead on Flip Murray's foul shot with 4.3 seconds to go.
After Leon Powe's foul shot provided an 84-83 lead with 8:51 left, the Celtics were in the bonus situation and seemed to be in command. Sixteen seconds later, Powe drew a charge from Williams, who became the third Hawk to compile five fouls.
But the Hawks were resilient.
