Hawks use familiar lineup to win Game 5

While the return of Horford provided a much-needed boost, the lineup change was made in part to free Johnson on offense. Johnson took only eight shots and scored nine points in the Hawks’ embarrassing Game 4 loss that put them in a 3-1 hole in the best-of-seven series. The All-Star made no secret of his unhappiness with such a limited offensive role.

“It moves him back to the 2 position,” Drew said before the game of Johnson’s return to shooting guard. “We’ve played four games where he has had to defend Paul [Pierce]. I kind of want to give it a different look now and see if that can generate a little more offense out of him. He’s been chasing Paul around for four games, and that can put a little wear and tear on you.”

Johnson finished with 15 points in the victory. Horford played 41 minutes -- despite a pre-game agreement to play between 15-20 minutes -- and had a team-high 19 points and 11 rebounds. Williams finished with 15 points in his return to the starting lineup. He hit three 3-pointers with two huge treys coming near the end of the second quarter to help the Hawks erase a 10-point deficit.

Subject to adjustments, Drew’s hope was that a bigger lineup would result in favorable matchups for the Hawks. The Celtics did not keep Pierce on Johnson on defense and left that task early to 6-foot-2 Avery Bradley.

"To have full deck now with everybody healthy, it's a blessing," Johnson said following the game. "I'm glad we could get back together at a great time. We've got a chance to do something special. We are ready to make this run."

Johnson had more points (11) and more shots (4-for-11) in the first half of Game 5 than the previous contest. He scored nine of the Hawks’ final 20 points of the second quarter as they erased a 10-point deficit and went into the intermission tied 40-40.

Johnson averaged 17.8 points per game in the first four games of the series, one point less than his season average. He scored 11 points in Game 1, 22 points in Game 2 and 29 points in Game 3 before the single-digit effort in Game 4.

While many may judge based on Johnson’s published statistics, Celtics coach Doc Rivers said there is more than meets the eye. Rivers said as teams track a shot blocker’s ability to affect attempts, he also is aware of shots a player creates for teammates.

“With Joe, even when he is not scoring, he creates shots for them because he makes you double-team, he makes you load to his side,” Rivers said. “So when we count, we count that as a point scored for Joe. He is creating a lot of points for them still. He scores on his own. He makes tough shots. We’ve done a pretty good job with our double-teams on him, but we still have to do a better job of eliminating the points that he creates.”

Johnson missed his first two shots before his first basket came with 2:34 remaining in the first quarter. He finished the game with three rebounds, four assists, two steals and four turnovers.

"We just want to take it one quarter at a time," Johnson said of the task of needing to win in Boston. "We don't want to get ahead of ourselves worrying about a Game 7. We are worried about a Game 6, the first quarter, not letting them get off to a big lead. We have to control the tempo and pace."