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Following Monday's Game 4 victory, Josh Smith deferred to Joe Johnson when asked about their epic fourth-quarter rally.

Even after scoring 12 points in Atlanta's 32-17 fourth-quarter blowout of Boston. You see, Johnson scored Atlanta's other 20 points.

Mikki Harris/Staff (ENLARGE)

Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith (5) drives between Boston Celtics forward Paul Pierce (34), left, and forward Kevin Garnett (5) during the first quarter of game 4 of the NBA Playoffs at Philips Arena.

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That's right, they scored every point for the Hawks in the period; no other teammate even attempted a shot.

Rare as something like that might be, Smith did not hesitate when asked if he could ever remember he and a teammate combining to so thoroughly dominate.

The precocious forward has been there and done that. "I'd have to say my senior year [of high school] at Oak Hill Academy," he said. "Me and Rondo did that a number of times; most definitely."

That would be Rajon Rondo, the Celtics' point guard.

J & J were most definitely dominant Monday, Johnson finishing with a game-high 35 points and Smith tossing in 28.

They saved some of their very best for last, in Philips Arena as the home team overcame a 10-point deficit at start the final period.

Smith, who jump-started the Hawks' 32-10 run from the middle of the first quarter to deep into the second when he blocked a Rondo shot from behind, hit a spinning left-handed shot from the left baseline to pull Atlanta within 75-70.

Johnson hit a running short shot, and Smith tied the game on a free throw with 5:23 to go. He also gave the Hawks an 81-79 lead with a jumper moments later.

Johnson, though, ran out front of everyone, taking advantage of defender Leon Powe falling down in the face of a fake drive. The guard measured out a 3-pointer for an 84-79 lead, and with 4:35 left, the Hawks were feeling fine.

"When he fell, I figured there wasn't no reason to rush," Johnson said after making 14-of-24 shots. "I just took my time, gathered myself, and knocked down a big shot. "

Big indeed.

"That was it," Smith said when asked to recount his favorite Johnson moment. "When he made that move, and Powe fell, and he was able to knock that shot down, I mean we knew that we had the momentum on our side."

The lead grew to 86-80 when Johnson's spinning drive down the lane with 3:31 on the clock. "He's capable of doing whatever," Smith said. "When he's like that, everybody is upbeat, having fun ... everybody is rolling."

Johnson seemed less able after the fact to assess his teammate's performance. He said he was "feeling it" in the fourth quarter, when he made 7-of-10 shots, both his 3-point tries, and 4-of-5 free throws to the point where he was truly locked into a narrow-sighted zone.

"I was so focused, man, trying to do so much, especially on the defensive end. Ray [Allen] got me running all around the court, and then we got to worry about Paul [Pierce] and Kevin [Garnett] so it's a lot going through my mind," Johnson said.

The two sealed the game at the free-throw line. Smith made both free throws for a 93-87 lead with 26 seconds left, Johnson added a pair with 14 seconds left, and Smith made two with 2.6 seconds left to finish 12 of 13 from the line. That was that.

"When I got [to Atlanta], this is what I imagined," Johnson said. "It took three years to get to this point, and now that we're here we've got to take full advantage of it."