By no means was it easy, but the Boston Celtics bounced the Atlanta Hawks from the first round thanks to a clutch fourth quarter.

In Game 5, the Celtics suffered a complete collapse late in the contest, yet Game 6 was the total opposite. Boston outscored Atlanta 17-7 in the last five minutes of the fourth and finally slowed down a red-hot Trae Young. The Celtics will now advance to the Eastern Conference Semifinals to take on the Philadelphia 76ers.

Since the Sixers took care of business in the first round in just four games, Joel Embiid and Co. had plenty of time to rest ahead of the Monday night showdown. The Green Team won't have that same luxury, however, they're no strangers to playing Philly in the postseason, as this is the third meeting between the two teams in six years.

Before we move to the second round, let's take a look at how the Celtics finally closed it out against the Hawks with three takeaways from Boston's Game 6 win.

3. Boston's stars outshine Atlanta

The Celtics' best players weren't in a rhythm for the entire first round, but they found their groove in Game 6. The dominant duo of Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown combined for 62 points and just two turnovers. For context, those two All-Stars combined for an average of six turnovers per game in the regular season.

Tatum and Brown limiting their cough-ups heavily contributed to Boston's 128-120 win. Perhaps the only bigger factor was their clutch shotmaking, as Brown made timely 3-pointers and Tatum essentially sealed the victory with this amazing putback dunk:

In the final quarter, the talented tandem outplayed Atlanta's stars. While Young and Dejounte Murray got the Hawks to Game 6, they combined for just seven points in the fourth on 2-for-11 shooting.

Atlanta's franchise players put up a good fight, but ultimately Tatum and Brown trumped Young and Murray.

2. Celtics' defense wakes up in the fourth

For most of Game 6, Boston's defense looked like a disaster. Young was lighting it up and the Hawks were invading the paint with ease while putting up 67 points in the first half. Following a third quarter that featured even more hot shooting from the Hawks, it looked like the C's weren't going to find their defensive intensity.

Yet, at last, the Celtics locked down in the fourth. They forced two turnovers from Young and held the Hawks to only 20 points in the final quarter.

Four out of Boston's five starters had blocks in the fourth quarter, with the biggest ones probably coming from Tatum and Brown.

Brown's incredible block on Murray helped lead to a ferocious Tatum dunk that pushed Boston's late-game run to 11-0:

Then Tatum sealed the deal with less than 30 seconds to play with a swat on Atlanta big John Collins:

Lastly, Boston played some of the best defense on an inbound pass that you'll ever see. Former Defensive Player of the Year Marcus Smart made life so difficult for Young that they had to switch him out for forward De'Andre Hunter. Although Hunter had a solid game, Celtics center Al Horford forced him to inbound the ball directly to the other sideline in a brutal turnover:

It was nowhere near a perfect defensive showing, yet the C's stood tall when they had to.

1. Offensive rebounding still needs work

If there's one thing the Celtics have to work on before the second round, it's offensive rebounding.

Atlanta destroyed Boston on the glass, as the Hawks had more offensive boards in every contest outside of Game 5. In fact, the Hawks' 24 second-chance points almost cost the Celtics Game 6. Atlanta had more second-chance points than Boston in five out of the six first-round games.

Those rebounding troubles might work against the Hawks, but it probably won't fly versus the Sixers. In the 2022-23 playoffs, Philly big Paul Reed has the second-most offensive rebounds per game with 4.3. Sixers veteran P.J. Tucker is also in the top 20 with 2.8 per game:

Additionally, probable MVP Joel Embiid is a force on the glass who will gladly take advantage of second-chance points. If the C's want to outlast the Sixers, they'll need to keep Embiid off the boards as much as possible.

For now, though, Celtics fans can breathe a sigh of relief that the first-round scare is over. Game 1 between the Celtics and Sixers will tip off on Monday at 7:30 in Boston.