ATLANTA, April 29 (UPI) -- Josh Smith scored 24 points and hauled down 18 rebounds Sunday, powering Atlanta past Boston 83-74 in the opener of their first-round playoff series.
Jeff Teague added 15 points and six rebounds for the Hawks, who jumped off to a 20-6 lead and were never seriously threatened en route to a 1-0 advantage in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
Kirk Hinrich chipped in 12 points on four 3-pointers and Joe Johnson also reached double figures with 11 for Atlanta, which led by as many as 19 points.
Rajon Rondo put in 20 points to go with 11 assists and Kevin Garnett had 20 points and 12 boards for the Celtics, who shot only 39 percent from the floor. Boston went 0-for-11 from 3-point range.
Game 2 will be Tuesday in Atlanta.
