Boston, MA (Sports Network) - Paul Pierce scored 22 points as the Celtics throttled Atlanta, 110-85, in the pivotal Game 5 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Pierce, who shot 10-of-17 from the field, added seven rebounds and six assists. Kevin Garnett tallied 20 points and seven assists for the Celtics, who took a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven set. Ray Allen nailed five three- pointers on the way to scoring 19 in the win for Boston.
The home team has won every game in the series thus far, and Game 6 will be in Atlanta on Friday.
"The level of intensity we play with at home, for some reason we've got to carry that same intensity on the road," Garnett said. "I think at times we do it in spurts."
The top-seeded Celtics were reeling following a pair of losses in Atlanta, but shot 53.6 percent Wednesday, just two nights after struggling to a 41.2 percent mark in a 97-92 defeat.
"Our offensive execution was as crisp and solid as we've had in a month," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "The defense was terrific. We were trapping, smothering, didn't make a lot of adjustments, just did what we should do, and we did it well."
Joe Johnson scored 21 and Josh Smith added 18 points for Atlanta, which ended at 40.6 percent shooting. The Hawks were behind by 15 at the half and never went ahead in the final two quarters. Johnson was limited to 14 less points than what he had in Game 4.
"They came out and they really got after us defensively tonight," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "They weren't going to let Joe play like he did the other night."
Al Horford's jumper cut Atlanta's deficit to 60-54 with 6:22 left in the third quarter, capping 11 straight Atlanta points. However, Garnett responded with a turnaround hook shot, Allen nailed a three and Pierce hit a driving layup for a 13-point difference.
Johnson and Garnett jawed at each other, causing a double-technical with 3:14 left in the third.
Right after a Smith jam, Pierce made an acrobatic shot while hanging in the lane and was fouled by Horford. Pierce converted the three-point play for a 78-64 margin with 29.5 seconds left in the period.
Leon Powe then came up with a block on Atlanta's Josh Childress at the other end, and James Posey spotted and drained a three-pointer from the left wing with 1.6 seconds remaining for an 81-64 margin going into the fourth.
The Hawks never threatened in the final 12 minutes, although there was a chippy moment with 3:11 left. Woodson was whistled for a technical foul, arguing a hard foul on Allen when he raked Horford across the face. Horford missed both of his foul shots. Smith was also hit with a technical 11 seconds later, and Allen hit both from the charity stripe for a 102-81 margin.
Sam Cassell added 13 points, while Rajon Rondo contributed 12 points and seven assists for Boston, which also got 10 points and seven boards from Powe.
Horford finished with 14 points and 10 boards, while Marvin Williams ended with 12 points for Atlanta, which has lost 10 straight playoff games on the road. Mike Bibby was limited to six points and one assist.
"I just thought we were sloppy offensively again tonight," Woodson said. "It's really carbon copies from the first two games."
Pierce's floater capped a 10-3 spurt for the Celtics late in the opening quarter for a 27-17 lead. He had 10 points in the period, as Boston led 27-19 going to the second.
Cassell banged in a three, and moments later his pull-up jumper, with 6:29 left before the half, extended the lead to 43-28.
A trio of made free throws by Johnson cut the deficit to 48-39 with 2:17 to go in the second quarter, but Rondo responded with a three-pointer to begin a 10-4 push to end the half. During that spurt, Horford was called for a flagrant foul for taking down Garnett.
Game Notes
Atlanta went 25-of-29 at the foul line..Boston held a 39-28 rebounding advantage..Garnett had three blocks..The Hawks' last road win in the postseason was on May 8, 1997 in Chicago during the East semifinals, which was won by the Bulls in five games..The Celtics are trying to remain perfect in playoff series versus the Hawks. Boston is 5-0 all-time in postseason series against the Hawks, winning in 1972, 1973, 1983, 1986 and 1988.