Hawks 104, Celtics 92
BOSTON -- Paul Millsap had 17 points and eight rebounds, Al Horford and Kent Bazemore each scored 15 points and the Atlanta Hawks eliminated the Boston Celtics with a 104-92 victory in Game 6 of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals on Thursday night at TD Garden.
Kyle Korver had 14 points and nine boards and Jeff Teague added 11 for Atlanta, which led by as many as 28 points in the second half en route to its first playoff series win over Boston in nearly 60 years.
Atlanta will face the Cleveland Cavaliers in the second round, which begins Monday at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Hawks lost all three meetings with the Cavaliers during the regular season by an average of 9.7 points. Cleveland also swept Atlanta when the two teams met in last season's Eastern Conference Finals.
Isaiah Thomas had a double-double with 25 points and 10 assists to lead Boston. Joe Crowder finished with 15 points and Marcus Smart and Jonas Jerebko each added 13 for the Celtics.
Boston shot 36.2 percent (34 of 94) Thursday and was held to 38.4 percent (206 of 537) in the series.
The Hawks outscored the Celtics 39-26 in the third quarter and led 89-61 with 9:51 remaining, but the Celtics battled back to come within 96-86 on Thomas' floater with 1:48 left.
Atlanta led by as many as six points in the first quarter before ending the period up 20-17.
Thomas played the entire first quarter, but was held scoreless until a driving layup with 2:25 left in the frame.
Crowder's dunk with 4:26 left before halftime brought the crowd back to life and pulled Boston within 34-25, but the Hawks stretched the lead to 41-33 entering the break.
Millsap had eight points and five rebounds in the half for Atlanta, which led by as many as 13 in the opening half. Thomas had nine points and five assists to lead Boston.
The Celtics were limited to 27.7 percent shooting (13 of 47) in the opening half.
NOTES: Celtics G Isaiah Thomas (left ankle sprain) was in the starting lineup after leaving in the fourth quarter of Tuesday's Game 5 loss. Thomas, whose 24.0 points per game ranked sixth in the postseason through five games, aggravated the injury in Game 4. ... Atlanta's last playoff series victory over Boston came 58 years ago, when the then-St. Louis Hawks went on to win their only NBA title in 1958. The Hawks' last postseason win in Boston came in 1988, a 112-104 victory. ... Boston last made three consecutive first-round exits from 1948 to 1952, the franchise's first three postseason appearances. The Celtics lost to New York in the first round of the 2012-13 playoffs and was swept by Cleveland in last year's opening round. ... Yankees slugger Alex Rodriguez was spotted in the crowd. The Red Sox host New York for a weekend series beginning Friday. ... The Cleveland Cavaliers, who swept Detroit in a first-round matchup, play host to Game 1 of the Eastern Conference Semifinals on Monday.