--With all the pregame discussion about Paul Pierce's $25,000 fine for a menacing gesture in Game 3, Celtics coach Doc Rivers wondered why the action that he believes caused Pierce to act wasn't cited by the game officials.
Hawks rookie center Al Horford stood over Pierce after sinking the game-clinching shot over the Celtics' captain and All-Star with 22.2 seconds to play. Commissioner David Stern had an answer.
"We don't go back and start calling technicals," he said. "The reality is we dealt with just that (Pierce's gesture)."
--A Sunday free from practice paid huge dividends for the Celtics early Monday night. They started the game on fire, blitzing the Hawks with a 16-3 start that kept the Celtics fans in the crowd buzzing much longer than they did at the start of Game 3 Saturday night. But the Hawks went on a 20-3 run over the final 4:55 of the first quarter and took a 29-24 lead into the second quarter thanks to Joe Johnson's jumper at the buzzer.
--Another sellout crowd showed up Monday night, highlighted by 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.
QUOTE TO NOTE: "Joe Johnson is the most underrated player in our league besides (Detroit's) Rasheed Wallace. He's underrated ... I'll give it to him. He played." -- Boston's Kevin Garnett on Joe Johnson after Game 4.
