Celtics top Hawks

NBA. Just seconds after bobbing his head to some old-school Phil Collins music that was pumping through the Garden speakers, Kevin Garnett threw down a thunderous fourth-quarter jam that brought down the house last night.

At times like that, the Celtics’ swagger was back. At others, they fell victim to their own uninspiring play. But either way, it was enough for the Cs to get past the lowly Hawks, 98-88, at a sold-out TD Banknorth Garden.

Garnett finished with 20 points and 16 rebounds, and Paul Pierce scored a game-high 30 points, including 17 in the third quarter.

Kendrick Perkins capitalized against Atlanta’s young front court with an all-around solid game. He had a career-high six assists, tied a season high with 12 rebounds, scored 11 points and blocked four shots.

“If Perk comes to play and does this every night, we’re going to be a scary team,” Pierce said.

Since their season-long three-game losing streak, the Celtics (46-12) have won five straight and will put that mark on the line Wednesday at the Garden against the Pistons.

“Both teams are solid teams,” Garnett said. “People are expecting it to be the Eastern Conference finals. It should be fun.”

The Celtics jumped out quickly on the struggling Hawks (24-33), building a pair of eight-point leads in the first quarter.

But the Cs fell asleep at the wheel in the second quarter. The second unit had trouble generating on offense, they missed seven shots in the paint and turned the ball over seven times, and the Hawks took advantage of Boston’s lazy play with a 12-0 run to take a 40-34 lead.

The Celtics woke up in a big way early in the third. After falling behind 46-41, the Celtics scored 13 straight in part of a 17-1 run. Pierce scored nine straight of his own during a two-minute stretch, capping off his personal run with a 21-foot jumper that pushed the Celtics ahead, 58-47.

The Hawks drew to within three points at the start of the fourth quarter, but never got any closer.