The Celtics closed the first round series against the Hawks with a win in Game 6 (128-120). Jaylen Brown led the winners in scoring with 32 points.

After the game the 26-year-old shooting guard talked about what challenges Atlanta presented for Boston.

“I think the way I describe it is like in the playoffs you got basketball, you got execution and then you kind of got this, like, fight that’s kind of going on,” Brown said. “And Atlanta, they might not have had all the X’s and O’s, but they fought. They fought us, they offensive rebounded, they play hard, they use that athleticism, they didn’t back down from no challenges.

“And that’s what we needed to step up was the fight of the game. And that’s where we had to match that intensity in the last couple of minutes down the line. I think we just composed ourselves a little bit more. That was it. Got our spacing. There was no need to rush.

“If we get our right spacing and we’re aggressive, we’re going to be able to get a good look. All we did, we got some big looks down the line and they went down. I hit one, I think [Marcus] Smart hit two. That’s what we needed to hit some big shots down the line.”

Boston will face Philadelphia in the Eastern Conference Semifinals.