Closing time?

C’s aim to finish off series Friday in Atlanta

NBA. These aren’t the glory days. Not yet.

This is a first-round series against the Hawks, a bumbling bunch barely cut out to qualify for the playoffs, let alone give the mighty Celtics a run for their money. But youth breeds ignorance, and those pesky Hawks have started a war in a series that won’t crown a champion, but a survivor.

And Friday, the Celtics head south for Game 6, leading 3-2 and trying to emulate General Sherman, storming through Atlanta and pushing forward to their next battle.

“This is probably the most important game coming up,” Celtics forward Kevin Garnett said. “We really have to lock in and understand what we did [in Game 5], try to carry it over to the road. We kept the game very simple very early, made extra passes. Defense was as well as we played in this series. We were very talkative. We knew our assignments. It’s very important to carry it over to the next game.”

If the Celtics maintain their Game 5 defensive intensity, submarining for loose balls, blocking nine shots, forcing 14 turnovers and holding the Hawks to 40.6 percent from the field, the series will end in Atlanta rather than returning to Boston on Sunday for a decisive Game 7.

But that’s been the challenge with playing at Philips Arena, where the Celtics have shot 42.7 percent in this series. They have relied on lazy ball movement, which has resulted in too many individual plays and outside shots. On defense, they’ve been slow to rotate, especially on the weak side.

Those will be the challenges the Celtics will face again in Game 6. Not only will they try to beat the Hawks, they must force themselves to rise up and continue the pace they’ve set all year long.

“They’re going to be tough,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said of the Hawks. “They’re comfortable [at home]. They’re young. The Atlanta fans have been amazing. Just because we won at home, we still haven’t won a road game. We’ve got to do that. It will be tough. It should be a hell of an atmosphere. I think it should be a lot of fun.”