Hawks head to the second round

BOSTON (AP) — Paul Millsap had 17 points and eight rebounds, and the Atlanta Hawks advanced to the second round of the NBA playoffs with a 104-92 Game 6 victory over the Boston Celtics on Thursday night.

Al Horford and Kent Bazemore each added 15 points for the Hawks, who earned their first playoff series win over Boston since the St. Louis Hawks beat the Celtics in the 1958 Finals.

The Celtics last three playoff appearances have ended in first-round exits.

Coming off a 27-point win in Game 5, the Hawks took advantage of poor shooting by Boston on Thursday, building as much as a 28point lead.

Atlanta blew the game open with a 39-point third quarter in which it shot 74 percent from the field.

The Celtics shot just 36 percent for the game. They made a final charge to get as close as 10 points, but Atlanta was able to close it out.

Isaiah Thomas led Boston with 25 points and 10 assists. Jae Crowder added 15 points.

NHL CAPITALS 4, PENGUINS 3

WASHINGTON (AP) — T.J. Oshie raised his arms in celebration and looked at referee Dan O’Rourke. Oshie was pretty sure he scored in overtime to complete a hat trick and one of the biggest games of his career.

Oshie’s third goal of the night stood up after video review and the Washington Capitals beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 4-3 on Thursday night in an overtime thriller that was a classic start to the highly anticipated second-round playoff series between Alex Ovechkin and Sidney Crosby.

“That’s kind of the stuff you dream about when you’re a kid playing in the backyard by yourself is scoring the OT winner and getting a hat trick,” Oshie said. “It was awesome. Great way to win.”

Oshie’s wraparound just barely crossed the goal line against the right pad of Pittsburgh’s Matt Murray 9:33 into overtime. The call on the ice was a goal, and the NHL’s situation room said video replay confirmed that the puck was completely over the line.

Murray, who made 31 saves but was beaten three times by Oshie and once by Andre Burakovsky, wasn’t convinced.

“The ref called it a goal on the ice,” Murray said. “I don’t know how he could have possibly seen it from his angle. But I thought I had it, to be honest. I knew it was close, but I thought it never fully crossed the line. I thought it was close enough that it would be inconclusive.”