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Monday night could have been the night the Boston Celtics polished off the Atlanta Hawks in this first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs but to the surprise of almost everyone lost game three, cutting their best of seven series lead down to 2-1. The Celtics need a win Monday in order to take the series back to Boston with only a win to clinch round-one of the playoffs. The game tips off at 8 p.m. ET and will be televised on TNT. 

Oddsmakers at online sportsbook, SportsBetting.com have installed the Celtics as 9-point favorites ATS with a 190 total. Money line prices have the Celtics at -500 while Hawks backers are getting +400.

With the win on Saturday, the Hawks won their first playoffs game since 1999 and the first in the new Philips Arena in Atlanta. Boston failed to cover as an 8-point ATS favorite. The 195 points scored sailed above the 187 total.

"It's a fantastic feeling, and it couldn't happen to a better bunch of guys," Hawks Coach Mike Woodson said after Game 3. "I'm so proud of this team. For this to happen for the city of Atlanta and our fans that supported us and have been with us all season, it's unbelievable."

"The Hawks fed off the energy of the crowd," P.J. Brown said after Game 3. "They got a lot of easy baskets, and they put a lot of pressure on us defensively. We're going to have to come out in Game 4 and just remember to play together. It's hard to sweep a team in the playoffs. It's hard to come on the opposing floor and grab a win. We knew this game was not going to be easy, so we're just going to re-group and come back for Game 4."

A playoff atmosphere has been resurrected in Atlanta. Against a team that now believes it can win, if the top-seeded Celtics don't play like the team they are in Game 4, one loss could turn into two. Just ask the Detroit Pistons.

Point-Spreads Pick: Atlanta +9

Some information from nba.com/celtics was used for this preview.

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