ATLANTA, May 8 (UPI) -- Al Horford returned from an injury Tuesday to score 19 points for Atlanta and the Hawks avoided first-round elimination with an 87-86 victory over Boston.
Horford missed most of the season with a torn pectoral muscle and had sat out the Hawks' first four games against the Celtics in their Eastern Conference quarterfinal series.
He made his first start since January Tuesday with the Hawks trailing 3-games-to-1, and contributed 11 rebounds, helping Atlanta stay alive.
Josh Smith, battling a shoulder injury, contributed 13 and 16 rebounds, but almost cost the Hawks the game when Boston's Rajon Rondo intercepted his inbounds pass with 10.9 seconds remaining.
He recovered, however, getting back defensively to tip away Kevin Garnett's potential game-winning shot as the final buzzer sounded.
Garnett finished with 16 points and seven boards while Paul Pierce also notched 16 points for the Celtics.
The series resumes Thursday with Game 6 in Boston.
