Hawks not complacent after blowout victory

Write the Miami Heat off if you want, but the Hawks know better, having been stuck in a similar situation a year ago.

After a humbling Game 1 loss in Boston during the 2008 NBA playoffs first round, the Hawks were considered nothing but a momentary nuisance on the Celtics’ road to a title.

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Hawks guard Joe Johnson leaves the court amid confetti after the 90-64 win over the Heat Sunday. ‘Bottom line is Game 2 is more important than Game 1 was,’ said Johnson.

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Five thrilling playoff games later, the Hawks and Celtics took the floor back in Boston for Game 7.

That’s why as spectacular as the Hawks’ 26-point Game 1 win was Sunday night, Wednesday’s Game 2 at Philips Arena looms just as large as the opener for both teams.

“Having been in that position, you can’t be a fool,” Hawks forward Marvin Williams said. “Don’t be a fool, man. Win or lose, it’s just one game in a seven-game series. Everybody in this locker room realizes that and I’m sure they realize that.

“They’re not going to just roll over and die because of one game. We know they’re going to play way better than they played the other night. And we have to be ready to play, as well.”

Winning Game 1 in a best-of-seven series for the first time since 1970 was more than just cause for celebration. And there was plenty of love to go around late Sunday night.

But the mood was totally different by Monday afternoon. The Hawks were back on the practice floor, buzzing through drills and extra shooting work the same way they did before Game 1.

“It was just one game,” said Hawks center Al Horford. “That’s the way we look at it and that’s the way we’re approaching it. It didn’t take us any time to come down from that high of winning Game 1 and get back to the grind.”

And back to the us-against-the-world attitude that’s carried the Hawks since training camp.

Stung by the predictions of the pundits who didn’t even pick them to make it back to the playoffs this year, the Hawks are still using those perceived slights as their rallying cry.

Thus, Hawks coach Mike Woodson doesn’t have to manufacture anything to motivate his team.

“I like that, I do,” Woodson said. “When we started this thing, I made sure to let them know it’s about these 15 guys in that locker room and these coaches. And I don’t care what all the naysayers say or about any of the negativity out there. I don’t care about that. It’s about us as a group figuring out what we’re supposed to do.

“And we’ve done that so far. We’re just trying to handle our own business. … These guys are trying to play for something, and that’s what playoff basketball is all about.”

That and learning from past mistakes.

And the Hawks don’t have to search hard for the right lessons.

“We don’t want to come into Game 2 overconfident,” Joe Johnson said. “We know we still have a lot of work ahead of us. And we know they’re going to make adjustments … the bottom line is Game 2 is more important than Game 1 was. And we have to come out and play with that same energy.”