The Atlanta Hawks are just one win clear of punching their ticket to the second one round of the NBA Playoffs. Game 6 could be held on the TD Garden and the host Boston Celtics can be playing desperate.

Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics (+2, 197)

Hawks lead series 3-2

The Atlanta Hawks found a formula to forestall Isaiah Thomas in Game 5, and it brought them to the edge of a chain win. The Hawks will attempt to stop a hobbled Thomas again and shut out the series after they visit the Boston Celtics for Game 6 on Thursday.

The Celtics were already down 31 points within the fourth quarter of Game 5 in Atlanta when Thomas went up for a layup and rolled his ankle at the way down, effectively ending his night at seven points on 3-of-12 shooting within the 110-83 setback. Thomas, who vows to play in Game 6, averaged 35 points in home wins in Games 3 and four and was the clear focus of the Hawks defense in Game 5, with two players trapping whenever he had the ball. “If we’re in a position to contain him, it gives us a greater chance,” Atlanta center Al Horford told reporters. “We just desired to be aggressive. (Thomas’) a man that’s very capable.” The Hawks trailed by 10 points midway in the course of the second quarter before exploding for 70 points over the following 18 minutes of the sport and coasting throughout the fourth quarter.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), CSN New England (Boston)

LINE HISTORY: The Hawks opened as 1.5-point road favorites and on Wednesday morning the books bumped the road slightly to ATL -2. The full opened at 197 and has yet to budge off the initial number. Take a look at all the line history here.

INJURY REPORT:

Hawks - C T. Splitter (Out For Season, hip).

Celtics - PG I. Thomas (Probable Thursday, ankle), PG A. Bradley (Out Indefinitely, hamstring).

MATCHUP CHART:

ABOUT THE HAWKS (51-36, 44-42-1 ATS, 39-48 O/U): Atlanta handed out a combined 21 assists within the second and third quarters on Tuesday and buried 11 of 14 3-pointers within the two frames while surging into the lead. “(The shooting was) definitely contagious,” Hawks swingman Kent Bazemore told reporters. “What changed is we said, ‘just let it fly.’ (We) loosened up slightly there.” Bazemore knocked down four 3-pointers to bop back from a 2-of-10 effort in Game 4 and Atlanta got contributions from reserve forwards Kris Humphries (eight points in nine minutes in his first appearance of the series) and Mike Scott (17 points on 7-of-9 shooting).

ABOUT THE CELTICS (50-37, 45-41-1 ATS, 40-47 O/U): Boston shot 37.7 percent from the ground in Game 5, including 7-of-29 from 3-point range, and had no answer for the defensive pressure interested in Thomas. "They put two or three guys on me each time I touched the ball," Thomas said. "Their game plan was to let the opposite guys beat us. It's going to be an indication of disrespect to my teammates for (the Hawks) to place two at the ball on every occasion I'VE it. Other guys must step up and make plays, that is what it comes all the way down to". Thomas expressed confidence that his teammates can be capable of step up with the series at the line, and guard Marcus Smart gets another chance in front of the house crowd after posting 20 points, eight rebounds and five assists in Game 4.

TRENDS:

* Hawks are 0-6 ATS of their last 6 road games vs. a team with a winning home record.* Celtics are 4-1 ATS of their last 5 home games.* Under is 5-0 in Hawks last 5 after scoring 100 points or more of their previous game.* Under is 12-3 in Celtics last 15 games playing on 1 days rest.* Home team is 4-0 ATS within the last 4 meetings.

COVERS CONSENSUS: The early consensus numbers are favoring the underdog Celtics (64 percent) and the over (59 percent).

Read More... [Source: Covers.com: NBA News and Stories]