It was a catharsis for the Hawks , who lost all four road games to Boston in the first round of the 2008 playoffs in the seven-game series and then lost both regular-season games last season in Boston.

There's no question it ranks as the club's top win of the early season. Boston came into the game leading the league in point differential at 14.7 points per game and playing so well that Hawks coach Mike Woodson called the Celtics the best team in the NBA.

Road wins don't happen often against Boston, which last year didn't lose its second home game until January, on its way to a 35-6 home mark.

But the Hawks , now 7-2 despite playing six of their first nine on the road, pulled it off. They now come home for a four-game homestand that starts tonight against New Orleans.

Difference makers for the Hawks were abundant.

Guard Jamal Crawford collected 18 points. His pull-up jumper and ensuing foul shot gave the Hawks an 87-76 lead and sent less-hearty Celtics fans to the gates with more than five minutes to play.

Center Al Horford grabbed 13 rebounds and set an energetic tone in the first quarter.

Forward Josh Smith, assigned to guard Celtics forward Kevin Garnett, ran the floor well, blocked three shots and held Garnett to 14 points. Backup forward Joe Smith gave solid minutes off the bench.

Guard Joe Johnson contributed several key jumpers, including a three-pointer that gave the Hawks a 63-62 lead with 3:50 left in the third quarter that, remarkably, the Hawks didn't relinquish over the final 15:50. Johnson led the Hawks with 24 points.

The Hawks outrebounded the Celtics by a stunning 47-29. By limiting Celtics chances and extending their own possessions, the Hawks took 11 more shots from the field than Boston.

The Hawks also got a major reprieve from the Celtics, who shot 1-for-15 from three-point range, their worst performance of the season.

After losing all four games to the Celtics last season, the Hawks saw the game as something of an early-season referendum. Last season against the Eastern Conference's big three ---Boston, Cleveland and Orlando --- the Hawks went 1-5 on the road. In their biggest road test this season prior to Boston, against the Los Angeles Lakers on Nov. 1, the Hawks laid a 118-110 egg.

"You've got to beat this kind of team," forward Zaza Pachulia said before the game. "I'm not saying every time, but you've got to steal a game especially on the road. The next step, to build on the things we did last year, this is it. This is the kind of game you have to win."

FG FT Reb

ATLANTA Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

MWilliams 22:41 3-7 0-0 1-3 2 1 6

JosSmith 35:11 6-12 2-4 4-7 2 3 14

Horford 32:59 6-9 0-0 4-13 3 4 12

Bibby 36:34 4-9 3-4 1-4 6 3 13

Johnson 40:29 9-21 5-6 0-7 3 2 24

Pachulia 14:32 2-4 2-2 3-4 0 3 6

J Smith 13:27 2-4 0-0 3-6 0 1 4

Crawford 27:50 6-15 5-7 0-1 2 0 18

Teague 4:32 0-1 0-0 0-2 0 2 0

Evans 10:34 0-2 0-0 0-0 1 1 0

Collins 1:11 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 240:00 38-84 17-23 16-47 19 20 97

Percentages: FG .452, FT .739.

3-Point goals: 4-15, .267 (Bibby 2-3, Johnson 1-3, Crawford 1-6, Evans 0-1, J. Smith 0-1, M.Williams 0-1).

Team rebounds: 10.

Team turnovers: 13 (11 pts).

Blocked shots: 6 (Jos.Smith 3, J. Smith 2, Horford).

Turnovers: 13 (Crawford 3, Horford 3, Johnson 3, Teague 2, Pachulia, Jos.Smith).

Steals: 7 (Horford 3, Evans, Johnson, Pachulia, Jos.Smith).

Technical fouls: Defensive three second, 0:50 first.

FG FT Reb

BOSTON Min M-A M-A O-T A PF Pts

Pierce 36:16 8-16 8-11 0-3 2 1 24

Garnett 33:06 6-10 2-3 1-5 2 2 14

Perkins 29:21 6-12 2-2 2-9 0 4 14

Rondo 34:33 2-4 0-2 1-4 9 3 4

RAllen 39:32 5-8 0-0 0-3 5 3 10

Daniels 19:16 4-6 1-1 0-0 1 3 9

Wallace 21:30 3-7 0-0 1-3 1 5 7

House 13:27 1-5 0-0 0-0 0 1 2

SWilliams 11:05 1-4 0-0 1-2 0 1 2

Giddens 0:38 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Hudson 0:38 0-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Scalabrine 0:38 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0

Totals 240:00 36-73 13-19 6-29 20 23 86

Percentages: FG .493, FT .684.

3-point goals: 1-15, .067 (Wallace 1-5, Hudson 0-1, Rondo 0-1, R.Allen 0-2, House 0-2, Pierce 0-4).

Team rebounds: 9.

Team turnovers: 15 (21 pts).

Blocked shots: 4 (Wallace 3, Perkins).

Turnovers: 15 (Perkins 4, Rondo 3, R.Allen 2, Daniels 2, Pierce 2, Wallace, S.Williams).

Steals: 6 (Garnett 2, House, Rondo, Wallace, S.Williams).

Technical fouls: Defensive three second, 3:35 first; Perkins, 7:42 fourth; Defensive three second, 6:08 fourth.

Atlanta 24 17 31 25 --- 97

Boston 22 20 28 16 --- 86

A --- 18,624 (18,624). T --- 2:29.

Officials --- Monty McCutchen, Olandis Poole, Derrick Collins.

Next for Hawks

Who: vs. Hornets

When: 7 p.m. today

TV; radio: FSSO; 790