After the Hawks scored the first basket, Boston led until early in the fourth. The Celtics were up by 12 in the second and nine in the third, looking to finally put away Atlanta.

But, as they did when falling behind in Game 4, the Hawks refused to fold.

They finally reclaimed the lead with just over 11 minutes remaining, when Williams soared for the rebound of Bibby’s missed 3 and laid it in to put the Hawks ahead 83-82.

From there, the teams went back and forth until a crucial play knocked out Pierce and gave the Hawks some breathing room.

Josh Childress scored on a brilliant slashing move off the baseline, holding the ball high above the hoop before he dropped it in. Pierce was called for his sixth foul away from the play fighting for rebounding position with Pachulia. The Boston star was livid over the call, ripping off his trademark headband and standing under the basket in disbelief.

The officials called a technical on Pierce while “Hit The Road Jack” blared throughout the arena. Johnson made the free throw, giving the Hawks a 96-89 lead.

Williams twisted his knee awkwardly trying to guard Pierce on a drive through the lane early in the fourth. The Hawks initially announced the third-year forward would not return, but he checked in to play defense with 20 seconds to go, still hobbling.

He’d already done enough at that point. In his best game of the series, Williams went 6-of-9 from the field and made all six of his free throws.

Atlanta got double figures from every starters. Besides Williams’ 18, Bibby had 17, rookie Al Horford 16, Johnson 15, and Smith — who played less than 30 minutes because of foul trouble — finished with 11. Off the bench, Childress had 15 points and six rebounds, while Pachulia contributed nine points and six rebounds.

Notes: Rondo played with a scrape on his right (shooting) hand. He sustained it in Game 5 going for a loose ball with Bibby. ... While the crowd was the largest for an NBA game at Philips Arena, it was far from the biggest in team history. Amazingly for a team never known for its crowd support, the Hawks hold the league record of 62,046 for a 1998 game at the Georgia Dome against Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls. ... Hawks coach Mike Woodson picked up a technical early in the third for arguing a call.

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