Celtics have carry-on baggage
Hawks have been tough - at home
ATLANTA - Celtics fans are creative with chants. There is usually a strong message to convey.
So it was no surprise the fans helped motivate the Celtics as they completed a 110-85 blowout over the Hawks in Game 5 Wednesday night. In essence, their message was for the Celtics to take care of business in Atlanta, as the fans believe they already should have done.
The Celtics can advance to the second round by winning Game 6 at Philips Arena tonight. Boston, however, has lost both playoff games in Atlanta, against the playoff team with the worst regular-season record. If the Celtics lose tonight, they return home Sunday for Game 7.
"It turns right back around," Celtics guard Ray Allen said Wednesday. "We have to watch film again and get on the plane and fly back down there. This is playoff basketball, this is what makes it part of the fun, knowing that we have to turn back around. They have a hostile building down there."
This series has been a tale of two cities.
The Celtics have a victory margin of 22.3 points per game, without allowing more than 85 points at home in this series. But in Atlanta, the Hawks are averaging 99.5 points. The young Hawks seem more energized and comfortable at home.
"We're more confident [at home], definitely more confident," Hawks forward Josh Smith said. "We just got to go out there knowing we can beat this team, and play up-tempo. If we don't play up-tempo with this good half-court team, then we know we're not going to win on Friday."
The key issues for the Celtics are maintaining their stifling defense and slowing down the athletic Smith and guard Joe Johnson.
Johnson averaged 29 points in Atlanta's two wins. He scored 20 of his playoff-career-high 35 during the fourth quarter of Game 4. Smith averaged 27.5 points in Atlanta's victories.
"So much focus is on how our defense is," Kevin Garnett said. "But you got to understand, Joe Johnson made plays, Josh Smith, they made plays when they had to. You play for home court for a reason. They did what they were supposed to do. They won on their home court.
"Obviously, we took care of what we needed to [at home]. But [Johnson] made plays when he had to. He played well for them when they needed him to."
Garnett said the Atlanta crowd has been more rowdy than usual.
With the Hawks in the playoffs for the first time since 1999, Games 3 and 4 were sold out, as is tonight's game. Celebrities such as billionaire Ted Turner, politician Andrew Young, hip-hop producer Jermaine Dupri, rapper-actor T.I., actress Salli Richardson, and rapper Young Jeezy have shown up. Such a turnout is far from the usual case at Philips Arena. And even the droves of Celtics fans have been drowned out by Hawks fans.
With their season on the line, the Hawks are hoping for a lift.
"We got to wait in Atlanta now, and see what happens in Atlanta now," guard Mike Bibby said. "See if we can jump on them in Atlanta again."
"Obviously, the less games you play in a playoff series, the better," former NBA coach Jeff Van Gundy said yesterday. Van Gundy is working as an analyst for ESPN tonight. "I think Atlanta will play very hard, but I would expect Boston to play very well and find a way to win."
While the Hawks are expected to get extra motivation from their fans, the Celtics have motivation, in the form of tough love, from their fans.
"This is probably the most important game coming up," Garnett said. "We really have to lock in and understand what we did [in Game 5] and try to carry it on to the road."
"We just got to do what we did at home," guard Sam Cassell said.
The Celtics did not practice yesterday and departed for Atlanta in the afternoon. The Hawks arrived in Atlanta early yesterday morning, watched film, and had a light practice at Philips Arena.
Marc J. Spears can be reached at mspears@globe.com.
