ATLANTA –- Before this first-round series between the Boston Celtics and Atlanta Hawks started, Kent Bazemore had only heard stories about what it was like to compete in a playoff game in Boston.

To hear the Hawks swingman tell it, the experience sounded almost mythical -- like something of legend. You could practically envision the black-and-white footage of the Celtics’ storied past and all the greats who have donned the green and white when he discussed playing a postseason game there for the first time prior to last Friday’s Game 3.

On Thursday, Bazemore and the Hawks return to TD Garden for Game 6 feeling more confident, even if they have lost their past two there. If they were the slightest bit in awe or affected at all by the Celtics' mystique in Games 3 and 4 in Boston, the Hawks return saying they fully know what to expect now that they have lived the experience in one of the loudest and most hostile environments in the NBA.

“The intensity [in Boston],” Bazemore said after the Hawks crushed the Celtics 110-83 in Tuesday's Game 5 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. “It is a different level up there. That franchise, that town, is used to seeing the NBA Finals there. They have a different aura there when you step into that gym.

“It is definitely a different atmosphere,” he added. “Some players thrive in it, and it is tough for others. With us going up there and losing two tough games, this one should be a tad bit easier on the mind knowing we have already been there and battled.”

Consider that perhaps the latest adjustment the Hawks might make entering Game 6. After throwing a few wrinkles at the Celtics in Game 5 -- from trapping Isaiah Thomas to playing Paul Millsap some at center -- Atlanta’s biggest adjustment Thursday could simply be feeling more comfortable playing at the Garden after experiencing a frenzied Celtics crowd and losing two tough playoff games there.

The Hawks will take anything that might help them in Boston considering they have lost 10 straight there and are 0-5 in potential series-clinching games there, according to ESPN Stats and Info.

Besides trying to duplicate their scorching 54.9 percent shooting and 74 points scored between the second and third quarters of Game 5, the Hawks may also continue to try some adjustments that worked Tuesday in Atlanta.

Trapping Thomas helped the Hawks limit the Celtics' spark plug to 3-for-12 shooting and just seven points before Thomas tweaked his ankle and left the game in the second half.

The Celtics will have to make the Hawks pay and prove somebody other than Thomas can hit shots regularly. Thomas said the Hawks had “two or three guys on me every time I touched the ball” and that “should be a sign of disrespect to my teammates.”

“The difference between [Game 5] and the [previous] two games was they had a lot of guys making shots,” Bazemore said. “Marcus Smart, [Jonas] Jerebko were huge up in Boston. [On Tuesday] we let the percentages catch up and daring those guys to make shots and we came out on top.”

The Hawks will also be looking for more production from Mike Scott, who has given Atlanta a boost off the bench. Scott scored 17 points and hit 7 of 9 shots to help offset Al Horford’s continued struggles. Horford has shot just 8 of 29 and scored a total of 19 points in the last three games.

While Mike Budenholzer says Horford is healthy, the Hawks coach has the option of using Millsap and Scott together to spread the Celtics out a bit.

“He obviously creates space for us whether he is playing with Al or Paul,” Budenholzer said of Scott, who is averaging 9.4 points per game and shooting 59.4 percent off the bench in this series. “And maybe [Scott] creates an opportunity for Paul. The way [the Celtics] play offensively, their bigs are kind of more perimeter-oriented and spaced, and I think he and Paul together can defensively be good for us and offensively they both can create space and can play with those random opportunities that we have. We like it.”

But perhaps the biggest adjustment for Atlanta entering Game 6 will be a mental one. The Hawks are coming off a dominating performance on both ends and now know what they’ll be facing in Boston, where the Celtics will be playing for their playoff lives.

“It is definitely tough to go up there and close it out,” Bazemore said. “But [Game 5] really gives us a mental edge heading into the next game.”