Celtics crush Hawks in game seven; Kobe and Lakers tune out Jazz

Paul Pierce scored 22 points while Kevin Garnett had 18 with 11 rebounds as the Celtics crushed the Hawks 99-65 on Sunday to win their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series, 4-games-to-3.

 "We let a couple of games slip away in Atlanta, but we knew what we had to do, and we took care of business today," Pierce said. "You have to take your hats off to the Atlanta Hawks. They have a lot of talent, and they gave us one hell of a series."

   The Celtics will host LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers Tuesday night in the opener of their semifinal battle. The teams split the regular-season series, 2-2.

 "LeBron is a great player," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. "It's going to be a tough series, because they were in the NBA Finals last year. Despite our (66-16) record, they're not trying to catch us, we're trying to catch them."

   Boston dominated the first three home games by an average of 22 points but failed to win at Atlanta.

 After losing game six on Friday night, the Celtics were in jeopardy of having their record-setting season - a 42-game turnaround - extinguished by the young and inexperienced Hawks, eyeing one of the greatest upsets in league history.

 However, the Celtics came out Sunday with a sense of urgency, turned up their defensive intensity and never let up.

 They led by 11 after the opening quarter, sparked by Pierce's 10 points, and held the Hawks to a playoff-record low for a half to take a 44-26 cushion to the locker room. The gap widened to 38 points after three quarters en route to the blowout.

 "This is how we play at home," Garnett said. "Atlanta wanted it, they took it to seven games, and this is what you get. When we're consistent with our defence it's hard to win here."

   Joe Johnson scored 26 points to pace the Hawks, who shot just 29 per cent from the field (24-of-82) to end their first playoff appearance in nine years.

 "Nobody thought we had an opportunity to even win a game in this series," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. "We battled them right to the end. We just didn't have it today."

   Elsewhere:

   LA Lakers 109, Utah Jazz 98. With the crowd chanting, "MVP," Kobe Bryant warmed up to receive what is being reported as his first NBA most valuable player trophy this week, with an award-winning performance in front of a wildly cheering, sold out crowd at Staples Centre.

 Bryant poured in 38 points including 21 on free throws, and the top-seeded Lakers held off the visiting Utah Jazz in the opener of their Western Conference playoff series. The Lakers host game two Wednesday night before the best-of-seven series moves to Utah.

 Bryant has heard the chants nearly every night but admitted it held more meaning today.

 "It adds a little bit more weight to it," he said. "Before it was, 'thanks,' but I'm not going to win it anyway."

   Spain's Pau Gasol had 18 points with 10 rebounds for the well- rested Lakers, who returned to work after completing a four-game sweep of Denver on April 28. Lamar Odom added 16 points with nine boards, while Sasha Vujacic scored 15 off the bench.

 Led by Bryant's 24 points, the Lakers raced to a 54-41 cushion against weary Utah, which eliminated Houston just 40 hours earlier in a grueling six-game series.

 Trailing by 19 points in the third, the Jazz got a second wind and pulled within 91-87 on a layup by Ronnie Brewer with 4:44 remaining. But that was as close as they would get.

 Odom had a layup, and Bryant followed with free throw, extending the lead to 94-87 with 3:28 to go. After two free throws by Deron Williams cut it to five, Gasol made three close-in baskets and two free throws, sparking a 9-2 run and opening a game-sealing 103-91 cushion with 44 seconds left.

 "They kept their intensity. They kept attacking us and made their run," Gasol said. "We didn't play our best game, so it's encouraging we can do a better job."

   Turkey's Mehmet Okur had 21 points and a career playoff-high 19 rebounds for Utah, which shot an icy 38 per cent (36-of-95) from the field. Carlos Boozer had 15 points and 14 rebounds before fouling out with 3:28 left.

 "We missed a lot of open shots that we normally make," said Williams, who finished with 14 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. "And, Kobe took over the game - that's why he's the MVP."