Hawks

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff So let me get this straight: Ben Roethlisberger is a tough guy, and Paul Pierce, Josh Smith, and Ray Allen are fakers. Because a quarterback who drops back a few steps and has to jog every five plays is a warrior for playing with an ankle sprain, but basketball players who twist their knees or have bone spurs in their ankle and then have to sprint, jump, and make lateral cuts for 40 minutes are wimps. Just so we're clear.

High Five Michael Barrett and Liam Driscoll , Xaverian: Barrett, a senior attack, and Driscoll, a junior midfielder, each scored three goals to lift the Hawks to a 10-9 upset of Needham. Joe Christiano , Southeastern: The Hawks clinched the first tournament berth in the program's six-year history when the senior attack scored with 1:30 left in regulation for a 9-8 win over Upper Cape. Tucker Ciessau , Scituate: In a battle of heavyweights, the junior attack led the Sailors with seven goals and two assists in a 19-6 victory over Archbishop Williams.

PHILADELPHIA -- The tattoo across Jameer Nelson's back, stretching from one shoulder to the other, reflects how he felt shortly before last summer's pre-draft camp: "All Eyes on Me. " "I suddenly realized that a lot of things have been focused on me throughout my college career," the Saint Joseph's guard said. "On the streets, wherever I go, everybody's watching me. Who knows if it's going to carry throughout my life, but that's how I felt. " Now he's trying to leave an indelible mark on the 10th-ranked Hawks, months after bypassing the NBA Draft to return for his senior season.

The Atlanta Hawks have committed to Larry Drew for one more season. The team announced Friday it is exercising its option on the coach's contract for next season. Asked if apprehension comes with the contract not being extended beyond the 2012-13 season, Drew said: "What do you think?" Drew would prefer a longer commitment from the team. "You know, you can look at it one of two ways," Drew said. "Certainly, is it the perfect situation? No. I've had a lot of dialogue with my representative about the situation and at this point we're just going to move forward.

■When, where: Wednesday, 8 p.m., TD Garden. ■TV, radio: CSN, WEEI (850, 93.7). ■Scoring: Joe Johnson 18.9, Josh Smith 18.9, Jeff Teague 12.6. ■Rebounding: Smith 9.7, Zaza Pachulia 8.0, Al Horford 7.0. ■Assists: Teague 4.9, Johnson 3.9, Smith 3.9. ■Head to head: This is the second of three meetings. The Celtics won the first game.

With their unblemished start, the Celtics brought back memories of the days of Larry Bird, Kevin McHale, and Robert Parish last night. Boston improved to 4-0 with a 106-83 victory over the Hawks at TD Banknorth Garden, becoming the 18th edition in franchise history to begin a season with four wins. It's the best start since the Celtics went 6-0 during the 1987-88 season, when Bird, McHale, and Parish were the star trio. The Celtics are the NBA's only undefeated team. In case you're wondering, Boston's franchise-best start is 14-0 in 1957-58.

ATLANTA -- At the risk of investing too much significance in one game less than a month into the schedule, let it be known the Celtics' season reached a critical juncture last night in a 120-117 loss to the Hawks. This has little to do with Atlanta recording its first win of the season, though the hapless Hawks put the Celtics' problems in sharper relief. It is one thing to struggle amid the din of a packed Palace of Auburn Hills, quite another to do the same in front of a crowd at Philips Arena generously estimated at 14,288.

It was hardly a reassuring statement, but Mike James felt the need to address what he figured many outside the Celtics' locker room might be thinking. "We can't throw the towel in," said James. "We can't throw the towel in now. There's still a lot of basketball to be played. " The Celtics have reached the point where they must constantly remind themselves to stay positive. James, along with many of his teammates and interim coach John Carroll, tried to do just that last night at the FleetCenter.

PHILADELPHIA -- Dwayne Lee and Pat Carroll each scored 15 points and Chet Stachitas added 13 to lead Saint Joseph's to a 68-60 win over Holy Cross in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament last night. The Hawks (22-11) will play in the quarterfinals tomorrow night at Texas A&M (21-9). Three times in the second half, Holy Cross (25-7) pulled within 1. Each time, the Hawks held off the Crusaders, including a leaning 3-pointer by Carroll over a couple of defenders.

The Celtics held all the cards going into Game 3 of their playoff series with the Atlanta Hawks Friday night. But, despite all the tricks up Rajon Rondo's sleeve and the return of shooting ace Ray Allen, the contest went to overtime before the Hawks folded and the Celtics took a 90-84 victory. A off-night for Paul Pierce (3 for 12 from the field), plus the Celtics' tendency to sabotage themselves, led to a dramatic finish, although the Celtics were still able to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series.

The NBA has fined Atlanta Hawks co-owner Michael Gearon Jr. $35,000 for publicly criticizing NBA officiating and making negative comments about an opposing player. The NBA also on Saturday announced Hawks rookie Ivan Johnson was fined $25,000 for directing an obscene gesture toward fans. Gearon was quoted by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution as calling Boston Celtics forward Kevin Garnett "the dirtiest guy in the league" on Wednesday. Gearon also criticized officiating in the series, won by the Celtics in six games.

ATLANTA (80) M.Williams 6-13 0-0 16, Smith 7-18 4-4 18, Horford 6-9 3-4 15, Teague 2-9 0-0 5, Jo.Johnson 7-17 1-1 17, Hinrich 2-5 1-1 5, Dampier 0-1 0-0 0, McGrady 2-6 0-0 4, Pargo 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 32-78 9-10 80. BOSTON (83) Pierce 5-11 7-8 18, Bass 3-7 0-0 6, Garnett 10-19 8-10 28, Rondo 7-14 0-0 14, Bradley 3-9 0-0 6, Allen 1-7 4-6 7, Stiemsma 0-1 0-0 0, Hollins 1-3 0-0 2, Pietrus 1-1 0-0 2, Dooling 0-2 0-0 0, Daniels 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 31-74 19-24 83. Atlanta 23 18 22 17—80 Boston 20 27 20 16—83 3-Point Goals—Atlanta 7-15 (M.Williams 4-5, Jo.Johnson 2-6, Teague 1-2, McGrady 0-1, Hinrich 0-1)

Doc Rivers knew there would be no rest for the aging Boston Celtics. The only question was whether they would be in Atlanta playing Game 7 of the first round or at home opening the Eastern Conference semifinals against Philadelphia. "At least we don't have to travel," Rivers said Thursday night after the Celtics beat the Hawks 83-80 to win the series in six games. "It's a short turnaround, but I'd rather be going to Game 1 here than Game 7 in Atlanta. " The Celtics will open the Eastern Conference semifinals on Saturday in Boston against the 76ers, who eliminated...

BOSTON — Kevin Garnett had 28 points and 14 rebounds, hitting a jumper to give Boston the lead with 31 seconds left, and the Celtics beat the Atlanta Hawks 83-80 in Game 6 on Thursday night to win their first-round playoff series and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals for the fifth straight year. The Celtics will play the Philadelphia 76ers, who eliminated East No. 1 seed Chicago in six games with a 79-78 victory earlier Thursday. Garnett topped his regular-season high of 25 points and had five blocks and three steals for Boston, which has won at least...

The losses were a mix of bad shots, poor decision-making, and injuries. It was part typical Atlanta Hawks basketball - too much Joe Johnson isolation, for example - and part bad luck. What had been the best chance for the current Hawks to make a stand in the playoffs and move beyond previous chances ended Thursday night in an 83-80 loss to the Celtics in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference first round. "Obviously it's disappointing that we couldn't be able to do something special," Josh Smith said.

The message from the sold-out TD Garden crowd in the final seconds was loud and clear. "De-Fense. De-Fense. " The Celtics didn't need to be told twice. It was their mind-set all night. It was their formula for success in an 83-80 series-clinching victory Thursday over the Hawks. Pick any part of Game 6 and you could see how the Celtics advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs. Take that 5:30 stretch in the second quarter when the Celtics turned an 8-point deficit (28-20)

The Hawks had thought that the return of Josh Smith would be the difference in Game 4 Sunday against the Celtics, that they could contain Rajon Rondo, that they could bring the series back to Atlanta tied at two games apiece. They had seemed confident, had acted confident, had appeared to know what needed to be done. The Hawks had not emerged from Friday night's Game 3 cowed, despite losing. They believed that if they could take the Celtics to overtime without their top three big men, they could win with at least one of them on the floor.

In the NCAA Tournament, they say you've got to "survive and advance. " In the NBA, you just take 'em any way you can get 'em, and then get out of Dodge before there's a recount. Or, in this case, you wait for Philadelphia to show up. That's right. It's going to be Boston vs. Philly. Check that: Boston vs. Philly? The same 76ers who looked so down, so out, so completely outclassed when they were here on Easter Sunday that there appeared about a 95 percent chance they would miss the playoffs entirely?