If the Hawks and Celtics weren't under each other's skin before Monday's Game 4 at Philips Arena, they are now.

Hawks reserve center Zaza Pachulia and Celtics All-Star Kevin Garnett made sure of that when they got into a scuffle with 7:24 to play before halftime. That resulted in four technical fouls being called and both coaches running onto the floor to keep players from throwing blows.

The ruckus began with Garnett throwing an elbow to Pachulia's chest as the two battled for position under the Celtics' basket. After play had stopped for a called foul, Pachulia charged Garnett and the two stood nose-to-nose before players on the court from both teams rushed in to separate them.

During that scrum, Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson and Celtics reserve point guard Sam Cassell got tangled up twice and had to be separated by players from both teams and the head coaches.

The pushing and shoving earned Pachulia, Garnett, Johnson and Cassell technical fouls but, surprisingly, no one was ejected from the game.

However, there could be suspensions after league officials review two things:

?A Garnett elbow toward referee Eddie F. Rush and ...

? Whether Hawks forward Marvin Williams and Celtics forward Kendrick Perkins left the bench and stepped on the court during the Garnett-Pachulia dustup, in violation of league policy.

"I don't take anything from anybody," Pachulia said afterward. "The message was, 'We're right here. And even if we lose, it's not going to be easy.'"

Stern downplays ownership rift

Could the Hawks' ownership dispute finally be nearing a conclusion?

NBA commissioner David Stern said as much before Game 4.

"We don't find it to be debilitating at all at the present time," Stern said of the dispute that came to a head three years ago over the acquisition of Johnson. "They are business as usual, they're working hard to sell tickets for next season, to sell sponsorships and to do what has to be done.

"They have their business calls every two weeks. Everyone knows there will ultimately be a divorce of some kind, the terms of which will be determined judicially no later than next February. But it's not a taxing or overburdening situation. I think too much is probably made of it in a way. So we're fine. We're fine."

The Hawks making the playoffs certainly didn't hurt, Stern said. "It demonstrates that if you put a team together on the court and win some games, you stand a better chance of overcoming a lot of issues," he said.

Turner views his former possession

Monday's sellout crowd included former Hawks owner Ted Turner sitting courtside at center court with his son, Beau Turner, a Hawks part owner, and daughter Laura Turner-Seydel, the wife of Hawks part-owner Rutherford Seydel.