Kevin Garnett salutes the crowd as he walks off the court after yesterday’s game.

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The Providence Journal / Glenn Osmundson

BOSTON –– Forget Zaza and the rest of the Atlanta Hawks. Bring on King James.

The Celtics finally ushered the Hawks out of the playoffs yesterday with a dominating, exuberant romp in Game Seven at the Garden, 99-65. The 34-point victory tied for the second-most lopsided playoff win in the franchise’s illustrious history.

Next up for the Celtics is a date with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers. Boston hosts the first two games of the series tomorrow night and Thursday.

The Celtics deservedly caught plenty of heat over the last week for letting the youthful Hawks hang with them for far too long, but they put the hammer down in convincing fashion yesterday. Boston raced to an 11-point lead after one quarter, 18 at the half and a whopping 34 points after three quarters. The bulk of the work in a mop-up fourth quarter was handled admirably by the Celtics’ bench.

“I told our guys after the game that that was the Celtics,” coach Doc Rivers said. “The defensive energy was off the charts and the offense was great.”

The Celtics, who improved to 18-5 in Game Sevens, took the Hawks out with their best defensive effort of the series. The Celts limited the Hawks to 29-percent shooting, forced 16 turnovers and cleaned up off the glass when the game was in doubt.

“Anything you can do in a basketball game, they did,” said Atlanta’s Marvin Williams. “They killed our five. No matter what five were on the court, they did what they wanted to do.”

Paul Pierce led the Celtics with 22 points. Kevin Garnett added 18 points and 11 rebounds and Kendrick Perkins sparked an early onslaught with 10 points and 10 boards.

The Hawks pinned a "Hawks Shock the World" sign on their locker room door, but played as if they were in shock in the first half. Atlanta began the game horrifically (3-of-13 shooting) and never recovered. The Celts not only trapped Atlanta’s elite scorers like Joe Johnson (5-of-17, 16 points) and Josh Smith (3-of-11, 7 points) but seemed to have two defenders near the ball no matter who controlled it.

The Celtics jumped out to a 20-10 lead, with Perkins serving as a surprise catalyst with six points and five rebounds in the first 10 minutes. Pierce hit two shots late and finished with nine first-quarter points as Boston led, 27-16. The second quarter only got uglier for the Hawks. They made just 4 of 15 shots and managed a mere 10 points to trail, 44-26, at the break. The 26 points were the fewest the Celtics have ever allowed in a half in the playoffs.

“They jumped on us and never looked back,” said Atlanta’s Mike Bibby. “They just played a hell of a game. The came out and made it tough for us and did what they had to do.”

The Hawks needed a blazing start to the third quarter but instead the Celtics’ romp continued and things got a little dirty. Pierce opened the third with a 3-pointer and two free throws. After two Williams free throws, Garnett nailed a baseline jumper. Garnett rebounded a Hawks miss at the other end to start a fastbreak that ended with Rajon Rondo streaking in for a layup. But Williams caught the Celtics’ point guard from behind, grabbed him just below the chin and hauled him to the floor.

Garnett and Pierce quickly moved toward Williams but resisted anything other than excessive jawing. Williams was eventually slapped with a flagrant foul and ejected.

The Hawks kept bricking (5-of-24, 21 percent) their shots through the quarter and the Celtics’ lead grew to 79-43 after three, leaving the sellout crowd howling with glee.

“When we’re like that, it’s pretty hard to beat us,” said Garnett, “but, again, the big question mark is our consistency.”

That consistency will certainly be put to the test again against the dynamic James and the Cavaliers. The Celtics don’t have a player capable of guarding James one-on-one but, then again, neither does any other team in the NBA. Boston hopes to preserve its homecourt edge early in the series and then prove to the rest of the league that its road losses against the Hawks aren’t a malady that’ll stick through the playoffs.

“For us to be an elite team, to be a team that can make it to the championship, we have to take from this series that you can’t have any nights off,” said Pierce. “You can’t take any plays off. We have to somehow get it done on the road. Some way, somehow.”

kmcnamar@projo.com