Atlanta Hawks edge past Orlando Magic 84-81: NBA Play-off Recap
Joe Johnson posted 23 points and had 10 boards, as the Atlanta Hawks wrapped up their first-round play-off series against the Orlando Magic with an 84-81 victory in Game 6 Thursday night.
Jamal Crawford scored 19 points for Atlanta, which was defeated by the Magic with a score of 101-76 in Game 5 on Tuesday. However, it was Hawks' scoring down the stretch that kept them ahead Thursday.
"To come home and finish this thing was just very, very emotional," said Atlanta's Head Coach, Larry Drew. "From the start this morning when we had our shoot around, and just listening to the guys, obviously we did not want to have a Game 7."
The Hawks won the series 4-2. This victory put the Hawks into the second round for the third straight season. They will meet the top-seeded Chicago Bulls in Game 1 on Monday night in Chicago.
However, while the Hawks advanced to the Eastern Conference semi-finals, they also lost their point-guard, Kirk Hinrich, due to a right knee injury coming of late in the final period.
Dwight Howard scored 25 points and 15 boards for the Magic, who were eliminated in the opening round for the first time since 2007. Orlando had reached the Eastern Conference finals previous year, but could not win a championship.
"We didn't win a championship last year, so you can't really take a step back," Orlando's point-guard, Jameer Nelson said. "That's our goal right there, to win a championship. We didn't do that last year. Obviously this is disappointing that we are out in
the first round."
Despite shooting 39 percent from the field overall, the Hawks took the victory.
The Hawks were ahead by 42-36 at the break, despite hitting just 35 percent of their field goals in the opening two quarters. Johnson and Al Horford grabbed seven combined boards in the first half.
The Hawks continued their strong defence in the second half and led throughout the third quarter. They carried a 62-55 lead into the fourth period. Crawford drained two three-pointers early in the quarter to give Atlanta a 71-59 lead.
Atlanta held a 76-66 lead with less than seven minutes remaining when Johnson made a turnaround, but the Magic made a cut into their deficit with an 8-0 burst. Ryan Anderson made a three-point score with less than four minutes to play to cap the stretch
and pull Orlando within two points.
Hinrich drilled a jumper with nearly three minutes left and shortly thereafter, he left the play.
The Magic cut their gap to 82-79 with less a minute remaining when Nelson nailed a layup. Nelson then hit another bucket with nearly 35 seconds to go after Crawford missed at the other end.
With the Hawks holding a one-point advantage and the clock running down, Crawford made two big free throws after Johnson slipped him the ball perfectly with less than 10 seconds left.
Atlanta had two opportunities to force over-time. J.J. Redick missed a wide-open three and then Josh Smith blocked Jason Richardson’s three-pointer as time ran out.
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