Best players come up short for Hawks

MIAMI — Closing out an NBA playoff series, the adage goes, requires your best players to show up with a closeout performance.

The Hawks are still working to figure that one out.

Given the chance to salt away their first best-of-7 series win since the Vietnam War, only veteran Mike Bibby managed to display anything resembling a closeout game Friday night as the Hawks offered little resistance in the Miami Heat’s 98-72 romp.

Bibby’s 20-point first half — including five in the final 91 seconds before the break — kept the Hawks within striking distance 51-42 heading to the locker room. But even Bibby has his limitations, going scoreless in the Hawks’ 14-point third quarter and sitting out most of the final period.

Joe Johnson hamstrung himself from the beginning, picking up two fouls in the opening two minutes that sent him to the bench for the rest of the first quarter. Josh Smith, booed every time he touched the ball, shot only 1-for-8 in the opening half and finished with seven points.

“We would have loved to do it tonight,” said Bibby, who went 6-for-12 from the floor and added seven rebounds.

“We’ve got to go out and play like we want to win. It’s doing all the little things — rebounding, going after loose balls, playing better defense.”

Not since 1988 had the Hawks been in position to finish off a seven-game series before the final installment. Those Hawks held a 3-2 lead on Boston in the Eastern Conference semifinals, but lost Game 6 at home and were eliminated two days later in Boston Garden.

Last year, of course, found the upstart Hawks taking Boston to the wall in the opening round before falling 99-65 in Game 7.

For seven of the current Hawks, that was their only playoff experience heading into this year’s postseason. And finding the killer instinct figures to remain a focal point as the teams head back to Philips Arena for Sunday’s Game 7.

“It’s just tough,” said Johnson, who played two postseasons in Phoenix before coming to the Hawks. “We’ve got to work our way through.”

Bibby said: “We thought we had a good chance. Maybe we came out with too much energy, too much excitement.”

Johnson barely had time to break a sweat before finding himself summoned back to the bench. On Miami’s third possession, the Hawks guard couldn’t avoid contact with James Jones’ wrist on a 3-pointer from the corner. Jones converted all three free throws.

Then perhaps trying to make something happen on offense, Johnson plowed into a pair of Heat players under the basket and was given his second foul. Total time on the floor: 112 seconds.

Smith’s shooting touch was off from the start, missing his first three shots and scoring his only points of the half on a tip-in of his own miss.