By the time Avery Bradley, who is recovering from a dislocated shoulder, sank a free throw to give the Boston Celtics a 37-point lead early in the third quarter, Paul Pierce was done for the night, riding a stationary bicycle under the stands and trying to keep his sore left knee from stiffening up.
Joe Johnson scored 30 points while Josh Smith had 19 points and 12 rebounds for the Hawks, who are in line to be the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference, with Celtics No. 5.