Boston — Any questions about Marvin Williams' readiness to play in Game 7 Sunday were answered beforehand, when he made it clear that it would take more than a sprained left knee to keep him out of the biggest game of his life.

But he didn't make it to the finish. He was ejected for flagrant foul (2) on Celtics point guard Rajon Rondo with 9:03 to play in the third quarter. Williams said he was just trying to make a hard foul on the play. He chased Rondo down the floor on a fast break and caught him with his left arm and knocked him to the floor.

Rich Addicks/AJC (ENLARGE)

Hawks' Marvin Williams was ejected for flagrant foul (2) on Celtics' Rajon Rondo. Williams said he was trying to commit a hard foul, but no hurt Rondo. But once he 'saw the replay on TV, it did look pretty bad, so I can't argue that call.'

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"Rajon and I have been friends since high school," Williams said afterward. "So he knows that I wasn't trying to do anything but keep him from getting an easy layup. That's it. But I'm not a dirty player. I was trying to catch him with my left arm and hold him up but when he jumped, he jumped right into my arm. But anybody that knows anything about me knows that I'm not that type of player.

"But once I got back here to the locker room and saw the replay on TV, it did look pretty bad, so I can't argue that call."

It was just one of many licks passed in the series and hardly the nastiest one Sunday — that honor belongs to Celtics All-Star Kevin Garnett, who flattened Zaza Pachulia on a screen with 2:05 to play in the third quarter. Garnett was called for the foul and left the game for good seconds later.

"We had to protect each other," Celtics All-Star Ray Allen said after the game. "It could have done more damage. It certainly looked bad, just from him [Pachulia] hitting his back. I'm sure they'll feel it tomorrow. At that point we didn't want anybody to get hurt, and we just had to watch our backs."

Pachulia and Garnett were the main combatants in a second quarter scuffle in Game 4 that resulted in technical fouls for four players.

"There have been some hard fouls in the series," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "Our guys are not going to hurt anyone, it was just a hard play [the Williams foul on Rondo]."

Mixed opinions

The Hawks couldn't agree on whether or not the Celtics looked like a championship team after this series.

Rookie center Al Horford saw enough of Garnett, Kendrick Perkins, Leon Powe and Glen Davis to know that there's plenty of ammunition to get it done.

"We really gave them all they could handle," he said. "But I do feel like they can get it done. They certainly have a good enough team to do it."

Johnson, on the other hand, isn't nearly as sold on the Celtics as his young teammate.

"I don't know if they're going to win it," he said. "[The media] has got them picked to win it. I had us picked to win it, but I guess I'm out of luck."

When asked if the Celtics are as good as everyone thinks, Johnson didn't retreat.

"No," he said. "They're probably not as good as everyone thought. We didn't show that here in Boston, but we showed it in Atlanta."

Bus troubles

Perhaps a bad sign for the day was the struggles of the bus drivers that carried the Hawks to and from their nearby hotel.

The bus crashed into the loading dock door twice Sunday, delivering equipment early and players and Hawks' staffers later.

"There wasn't a single problem before any of the other games we played here," Johnson, who was on the bus during the second crash, said with a smile, "and then before Game 7 they can't drive. That's crazy. It's a good thing nobody got hurt."

Bald forever

Woodson said his shaved head is here to stay, as in forever.

He made the deal with his team that if they made the playoff field he'd shave his head. And he kept his promise. Now he claims he'll never grow his hair back.

"I'm not going to ever grow it back," Woodson said. "It's convenient. I don't have to comb my hair. When they bury me they're going to bury me bald-headed. Besides, I think it's just become a part of me."