BOSTON — It was the second Game 7 of Kendrick Perkins' career.

In the first one, May 7, 2005 in Boston, Perkins hardly covered himself with glory. He tallied three points in garbage time and picked up a late technical for his involvement in a near-fight in a 97-70 loss to the Indiana Pacers.

Yesterday, he was the MVP when the game was still a game.

The fifth-year center answered the Hawks' opening score, a three-pointer by Joe Johnson, and didn't stop.

Normally one of the first starters to be substituted for, oftentimes because of foul trouble, Perkins was the only Celtic that played all 12 minutes in the opening stanza.

By the time the quarter ended, he had eight points, six rebounds and two blocks as the Celtics sprinted to a 27-16 lead and never looked back.

"I thought he set the tone defensively as much as anyone," said coach Doc Rivers.

Perkins, who was emotional the entire series, said the mood before the game was "crazy."

Perkins said, "Ray (Allen) told me it was the most important game of his career."

Perkins has said several times this season that having Kevin Garnett around has changed not only the team's fortunes.

"I always feed off KG," said the 23-year-old, 6-foot-10 center. "Every time I look at him it is so business-like, the focus he brings. ... It just rubs off."

Yesterday, though, it was Perkins doing some of the inspiring.

"I thought Perk did a great job of holding the post down," said Garnett. "He blocked a lot of shots (yesterday) and was very active."

Perkins finished with 10 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks.

Sleep deprivation running rampant

Apparently Friday's Game 6, a stunning 103-100 loss in Atlanta, didn't sit well with the Celtics. A few players admitted they couldn't sleep soundly on Saturday night.

"I haven't slept," said Kevin Garnett. "Been up for near 24 hours just thinking about Game 6 and things we needed to do (yesterday)."

Ray Allen said he began texting teammates around midnight when he couldn't get any shut-eye.

"I wasn't nervous. I just didn't sleep," said Allen. "Just because before I go to sleep I let go of everything that happened during the day. I was just thinking too much about the game."

Kendrick Perkins said adrenaline got him through yesterday's game.

"I haven't been able to get enough sleep," said Perkins. "So I just came out and set the tone, leave it all out on the court."

Several Hawks had tough days

Whether it was youth, inexperience or the Celtics, several Hawks played probably their worst games of the series.

Of the starters, only Joe Johnson scored in double figures with 16 points, and he had 12 points by the half. And he was just 5 of 17 from the floor.

Mike Bibby only scored two points while Josh Smith (7 points) and Al Horford (8 points), the other two members of Atlanta's "Big Three" made only six of 23 shots.

"Give the Celtics credit," said Smith. "Their defense was all over us. I don't think it had anything to do with Game 7. It was the Celtics. They had more energy than we did."

At one point in the second quarter, Smith's 18-foot jumper didn't hit anything. The Garden fans let him have it, of course, with "Air-ball! Air-ball!!"

Doc: Williams didn't mean it

Atlanta Hawks forward Marvin Williams' hard foul on Rajon Rondo with 9:09 remaining in the third quarter was deemed a "Grade 2" flagrant foul after the referees watched replays.

Rondo was going in for a layup and Williams sent Rondo flying to the floor, with the Celts guard landing on his back.

Williams was ejected.

The Garden crowd was not happy. But Celts coach Doc Rivers said there was no ill will toward Williams afterward.

"I know Marvin and he didn't mean to hurt Rondo," said Rivers. "Should he have been ejected? Probably. But he's a fine young man. It was just a hard foul that (went bad)."

The smartest move of the game was made by the man behind the controls of the Jumbotron. With the Garden crowd in a frenzy, the replay was never shown. It could have gotten real ugly if it was seen again.

He didn't bring down the House

Among Celtics players in need of a confidence boost is backup guard Eddie House, who has lost considerable playing time with the arrival of Sam Cassell. House played only 21 minutes over the seven games, making only one hoop, a 3-pointer in the Game 1 blowout. Of his five shots in the series, two were air balls.

Bibby booed until the end

Hawks guard Mike Bibby will always remember his four playoffs games in Boston, though he'd rather not.

The Hawks gave up Anthony Johnson, Tyronn Lue, Shelden Williams, Lorenzen Wright and a 2008 second-round draft pick to Sacramento for the 10th-year guard.

Bibby scored only 25 points in four games in Boston, including two points yesterday. After the Hawks lost the opener, he called Celtics fans "front-runners."

Well, he paid for it. Every time he touched the ball beginning in Game 2, Bibby was roundly booed. And it never stopped.

Yesterday, with Bibby on the bench in the second half, fans began chanting, "We want Bibby!"

"I've never seen anything like it," said Hawks forward Josh Smith. "These people were on him like crazy."

Bibby was horrible in the four Boston games: .250 shooting, 6.3 points, 1.3 assists, 1.8 turnovers, -17.8 plus/minus.

Hawks look to next year

The Atlanta Hawks know how the Boston Bruins feel. After having lost a tough seven-game series, being blown out in the finale, they were being praised for elevating their team.

"I believe basketball is back in Atlanta," said head coach Mike Woodson. "It was a lot of fun to see so many people care again. I'm really excited for next year. We have a lot to look forward to."

Kudos to referees

The Celtics weren't the only crew that did a good job yesterday. The three referees — Dan Crawford, Bennett Salvatore and Ken Mauer — deserve kudos for keeping emotions in check when it appeared there could be trouble.

They were quick to separate players and called quick fouls when it appeared the physical play was increasing, including when Kevin Garnett flattened Hawks big man Zaza Pachulia with a fourth-quarter backcourt pick.

Celts 18, Hawks 2

That's how many Game 7s each of the two franchises have won.

The Celtics are 18-5 in Game 7s, but they had not won one since beating Atlanta in the second round in 1988. Counting best-of-five and best-of-three series, Boston is 23-8 in deciding games. The Hawks franchise (previously they were the St. Louis Hawks) is 2-8 in seventh games and had not won one since 1961. They are 8-14 in decisive games overall.