Welcome on the bandwagon, Hawks fans, and please come back.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson said, "it felt good to come and get some home cooking" after his team hardly resembled the one that was thrashed soundly in the first two playoff games in Boston.

Players couldn't agree more.

"I think it had to do with the crowd, just coming back home, seeing the fans," said center Al Horford. "They were so excited. That made the biggest difference for us."

Marvin Williams said, "The Boston fans made it difficult for us up there, and I think our fans did it tonight. I've been here three years, and I've never heard it like that. I couldn't name a single person, I don't think, who expected us to win a game [in the series]. I could feel it in warm-ups."

Boston's P.J. Brown said, "The Hawks fed off the energy of the crowd tonight."

Moving it

Atlanta played its best offense of the series by far in the first quarter, scoring 32 points against a defense considered by most to be the NBA's best. The Hawks had assists on 10 of 11 field goals, point guard Mike Bibby ringing up five in the period. That matched Atlanta's entire assist total from game two.

C's wanna slow it down

It's no secret that the Celtics prefer a more deliberate pace. Boston coach Doc Rivers said his team was in too much of a hurry. "Give [the Hawks] credit, they played great defense and pressured us," he said. "But I honestly thought we rushed our offense. We didn't try to win the game collectively. Everyone was trying to win the game individually."

Marvin on Josh

"When you tell him what to do, he doesn't do it, and when you don't tell him what to do, he does it."

Extra points

Atlanta's Al Horford, who led NBA rookies with 25 double-doubles during the season, had his second of the series with 14 points and 12 rebounds. He had 20 points and 10 rebounds in game one. ... All four of Atlanta's blocked shots came in the second half. ... The Celtics made 23 of 25 free throws. ... Atlanta's Mario West and Solomon Jones (who made his playoff debut in he second quarter) busted out Mohawk haircuts for the game.

They said it

Boston coach Doc Rivers on the Falcons picking Boston College quarterback Matt Ryan in Saturday's NFL draft: "I love him, actually. I think he's a great pick. Obviously it's a gamble when you take a quarterback that high, but I love him."

Then, just as Celtics general manager Danny Ainge (uncle of Tennessee quarterback Erik) walked by, a Boston TV reporter said: "Obviously he's a better pick than somebody from Tennessee, huh?"

Rivers laughed and said: "I love [Erik] Ainge, as a matter of fact." And a Boston writer said: "So, you do want that [contract] extension?"

— AJC columnist Mark Bradley contributed to this report.