Paul Pierce, on a mission to prove he belong in top five best player discussions, ended the Hawks streak with just 0.5 seconds left on the clock. Pierce saved his best play for the second half, when he scored 23 points and made 15 of 16 free throws. "The last play was drawn up: Get the ball to Pierce; get the hell out the way," said Garnett. "Superman's in the booth. Let's go home. That was the play, and if you don't believe that ask Doc Rivers and he'll say the same exact thing."

The Celtics once again were of to a slow start, a hallmark of this young season Doc Rivers would like to change. At one point in the second quarter the C's trailed by 16 points. The Celtics closed the second quarter with a 18-2 run that tied the game. The game remained close for the rest of the quarter until Piece made his shot. The win puts the C's home winning streak against the Atlanta Hawks at eight.

Kevin Garnett scored 25 points with 12 rebounds and Ray Allen had 17 points. Atlanta Hawks star Joe Johnson had 28 points with seven assists. Maurice Evans and Ronald Murray both contributed from the bench, scoring 13 and 14 points respectively.

The win puts the Celtic's own win streak at six games and their overall record is 8-1. It looks like the Celtics are on a mission to repeat, they are playing with intensity and poise that they will have to struggle to keep up for the whole season. The Celtics seem to have a knack for stopping runs from other teams. Don't forget the Celtics were the team that stopped the Houston Rocket's unbeaten streak at 22 last season.

Next up, the Celtics take on the Denver Nuggets at home on Friday and then travel to the Milwaukee Bucks on Saturday. The Atlanta Hawks next take on the New Jersey Nets for two games in a row and then the Indiana Pacers. Buy NBA tickets.