Atlanta Hawks vs. Orlando Magic: NBA First round Playoffs Game-4 Preview
On Sunday evening, the Atlanta Hawks will take on the Orlando Magic in the Game 4 of the first round at Philips Arena, Atlanta. So far, the Hawks have dominated the series and have won two out of three contests.
Earlier in the regular-season, the Magic have won 52 games and lost 30 to achieve the fourth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Hawks on the other hand were able to grasp the fifth place in the East with 44 victories and 38 defeats.
Although, the Hawks lagged behind Magic in numbers, but they won the regular-season series from them 3-1.
The postseason story is not much different so far. In spite of Dwight Howard’s healthy contributions the Magic have failed to mesmerize so far. However, they have given a tough time to the Hawks and all three games were very close.
Orlando won the Game 2 by six points (88-82) and Atlanta prevailed in Game 1 and 3 by 10 (103-93) and four points (88-84) respectively.
In Game 1, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford led the Hawks, as they defeated the Magic 103-93 and overcame Dwight Howard’s monster stats, 46 points and 19 rebounds. Johnson made 25 points and Crawford added 23 for the Hawks.
The Hawks remained in control throughout the game and led the Magic 85-71 into the final quarter, where Orlando made a late cosmetic surge that cut the deficit to 98-90 with less than two to go.
The Hawks swiftly tackled it with a steal by Josh Smith and Crawford shot a three-pointer that put the Atlanta back in the scramble mode and they went on winning the game.
In Game 2, Howard scored 33 points and 19 rebounds, Jameer Nelson chipped in with 13 points and eight boards to help the Magic defeat the Hawks 88-82. With this win the Magic tied the best of seven game series 1-1.
Regardless of giving away 16 turnovers, shooting 34 percent from the field and a late surge by the Hawks down the stretch, the Magic still managed to win the game, as they played well on the defensive end.
The Hawks shot 55 percent in the first game, failed to match it in the second and shot just 38 percent. Smith was the major contributor for the Hawks, he scored 17 points along with six rebounds and three assists.
Ryan Anderson, who led the Magic’s bench with eight points, said after the game, "Atlanta's a team that if things aren't really going their way, they're going to struggle a little bit. We're different in a sense where if we're
down we kind of know how to fight our way back into it."
In Game 3, Crawford spearheaded the Hawks, as they went 2-1 in the seven game series by defeating the Magic 88-84. Crawford scored 23 points together with three rebounds and three assists, including a whoosher from three-point
range with just 5.7 seconds left in the game that sealed the victory for the Hawks.
The game went down to the wire, but it was Atlanta who kept their cool and came out as winners. Howard led the Magic for the third straight time; he scored 21 points and 15 rebounds to mark his second double-doubles of the series.
It’ll be interesting to see how both teams will play on Sunday in Game 4, as it’ll be a crucial game for them. The Hawks will be ready to fire all cylinders in order to go 3-1 in the series and make it hard for the Magic to comeback
in the series. Orlando, on the other hand, will try to fix the loose ends so they’ll be able to strike the Hawks hard and level the series once again.
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