All throughout the trade deadline, Josh Smith’s name was attached to the Boston Celtics (34-27). He showed why Danny Ainge made him a primary target, putting on a terrific all-around performance.

Smith finished with 32 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. His effort wasn’t enough though, as Paul Pierce carried the Celtics to a 107-102 overtime victory.

Pierce had 27 points, seven assists and seven rebounds, but it was his timely shots in overtime that proved once again why they call him “The Truth.” After Smith hit a 3-pointer with 2:14 left in overtime to put the Hawks up two, Pierce responded with his own deep 3-pointer seconds later putting Boston back on top.

The Hawks (34-27) would then tie it up after an Al Horford free throw, but Jason Terry knocked down a 3-pointer with 35 seconds left to break a 102 tie. That proved to be the deciding shot, as the Celtics would force a turnover on the next Hawks’ possession. A pair of Terry free throws then sealed the final score.

Early in the fourth quarter, it appeared that Boston was headed for a comfortable victory, as they held a 12-point lead. Similar to the last meeting though, when the Hawks overcame Boston’s 27-point lead, the Hawks clawed their way back to tie the game up late in the fourth quarter.

The Hawks would even have a chance to win in regulation, but Smith missed the potential game winning shot with 2.2 seconds left.

With tonight’s victory, Boston surpasses the Hawks and is the current sixth seed in the Eastern Conference. Boston’s bench has played a significant role in the Celtics ascent up the playoff ladder, and tonight was no different. The Celtics’ bench scored 46 points compared to just eight points for the Hawks.

The Celtics are now 7-4 in overtime games this season. There will be little time for rest though, as Boston will take on the Oklahoma City Thunder (46-16) Sunday afternoon.

Feb 20, 2013; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks small forward Josh Smith (5) dunks the ball against the Miami Heat during the second half at Philips Arena. The Heat defeated the Hawks 103-90. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Josh Smith is going to be an Atlanta Hawk at least for the rest of this season according to Yahoo! Sports Adrian Wojnarowski. Moments before the deadline the Milwaukee Bucks and the Brooklyn Nets pulled out of the deal. Milwaukee, instead, opted to deal for J.J Redick.

Josh Smith was the most highly coveted commodity that was said to be available in the past few months. The belief is that he wants a maximum deal worth $90 million over the next five years and the Hawks aren’t willing to pay him that. Now, instead of being traded and keeping the extra $23 million dollars that he would’ve made, Smith will have to accept less money in free agency.

Smith will still be sought after by many teams in the offseason. It was believed that the Hawks asking price for Smith was too high. They were looking for young players to develop, expiring deals, and draft picks. They’re trying to ensure that they’re able to attract and sign Dwight Howard as a free agent this offseason. The team that Smith would’ve been sent to would’ve had to mortgage their team for this year and wouldn’t have been very competitive at all.

Here is the tweet from Woj:

Josh Smith will stay in Atlanta, league source tells Y! Sports. No deal.

— Adrian Wojnarowski (@WojYahooNBA) February 21, 2013

Feb 13, 2013; Orlando, FL, USA; Atlanta Hawks forward Josh Smith (5) complains about a call against the Orlando Magic at Amway Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Griffith-USA TODAY Sports

There had been reports previously that Josh Smith believes that he is a player worthy of a max contract. We never knew the exact value that Smith would be asking for and we had an idea of what the Hawks would ask for for Smith, but now we have confirmation.

Ken Berger of CBS Sports reported that the Hawks were seeking expiring contracts, high draft picks, and young players with potential for Smith. Smith, himself, is seeking a deal somewhere around five years for 90 million dollars. He’s looking to become the designated player for the franchise that trades for him.

It sounds like Smith would be willing to resign with any team that trades for him for the extra $23 million that he would get for the extension. But trading for Smith is a danger on its own because the team that trades for him would have to empty out its roster for him. They wouldn’t have a lot of flexibility to work with cap wise after the trade to bring in other pieces.

Here’s the exact transcript from Berger’s article:

• The Hawks are believed to be seeking a combination of expiring contracts, young players and draft picks in exchange for Smith, whose expressed desire for a five-year, approximately $90 million max contract has cooled the market for him. Rival executives continue to believe that the Suns have been aggressive in their pursuit of Smith and other trades. But even with a potential lottery pick from the Lakers in the Steve Nash deal, execs are skeptical that Phoenix has enough attractive young players to complete the deal. The Nets and Celtics have inquired about Smith, but it’s too early to say where those talks are going.

At the end, it says that its too early to say where the Nets and the Celtics are going in talks with the Hawks, but its not very likely that the talks between those teams will go anywhere. They’re lacking in all of the pieces that the Hawks are looking for, and neither team will be willing to give Smith a maximum contract.

The Nets already have three max players on their roster in Joe Johnson, Deron Williams, and Brook Lopez. The Celtics are going to want money to play with in the free agency classes in the next two years and will also need to keep Rajon Rondo under contract as well.

There’s no telling what talks really are behind the scenes, but I doubt that they’re going anywhere between the Hawks and the Celtics. I don’t even think the Phoenix Suns will be able to trade for Smith at that asking price.

If you ask me, Smith is going to be a Hawk after Thursday and will be forced to wait until free agency to move. But the clock is ticking, and it seems like the Hawks are dead set on making a deal.