Have Hawks figured out winning formula?

The Hawks have a chance to close out the Boston Celtics in a playoff series Thursday night, which probably is a difficult thing for Atlanta sports fans to process. (The Atlanta franchise is 0-7 all-time vs. Boston.)

This much we know, in the words of former Boston coach Rick Pitino:

But one major key to Game 6 at TD Garden will be whether the Celtics can figure out how to counter the Hawks’ “small” lineup that they used so effectively in Tuesday’s 110-83 win.

The Hawks were at their best when center Al Horford, who has been struggling, went to the bench and coach Mike Budenholzer went with a smaller lineup, with Mike Scott and Paul Millsap as his lone big men. The duo caused matchup problems for Celtics coach Brad Stevens, who couldn’t find a viable option that worked.

Was this the breakthrough the Hawks were looking for in a series that has been far more difficult than anticipated? We’ll know more Thursday.

For more on Budenolzer's strategy change, go to my column on MyAJC.com that is linked here.