Hawks fans: ‘Bring on LeBron!’

Chants of “Bring on LeBron!” pierced CNN Center as Hawks fans poured out of Philips Arena Sunday afternoon.

For fans who had watched their team win a playoff series for the first time in a decade, the Game 7 trouncing of Miami was an occasion for giddiness.

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Larry Hartstein/lhartstein@ajc.com

Hawks fans Coley Byrd, 52, who owns a communications company, and his friend Rita Harkins. Byrd is a 30-year Hawks fan from Atlanta react to their Game 7 win over the Miami Heat at Philips Arena Sunday afternoon

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“I think they can go all the way,” declared season-ticket holder Roosevelt Wilson, a 49-year-old postal worker. “We can beat anybody here in our house. We just need to sneak one out on the road.”

That will be a monumental task against LeBron James and his Cleveland Cavaliers, who went 39-2 at home.

James averaged 26.3 points as the Cavs beat the Hawks three of four times this season. Cleveland finished with the NBA’s best regular-season record, 66-16, then destroyed Detroit in a four-game playoff sweep.

Still, fans spent Sunday relishing the Hawks’ first playoff series win since a 3-2 victory over Detroit in 1999.

Coley Byrd, a 30-year Hawks fan sporting a Dominique Wilkins jersey, said the only game he enjoyed more was the Falcons’ NFC Championship upset of Minnesota after the 1998 season.

“With all the losses the Hawks have had, it’s a real good feeling to see them go to the next round,” said Byrd, 52, who owns a communications company. “We made some Miami fans leave, we started singing goodbye, so we had a wonderful time.”

Byrd wasn’t among those eager to face the Cavs.

“I really don’t want to see LeBron in his rare form just yet,” he said.

Cathy Freeman and her son, E.J. Freeman, who celebrated in Taco Mac after the game, said they bought season tickets in March anticipating a postseason run. The purchase enabled them to get playoff tickets in advance.

“If they play like they did today, and Josh [Smith] plays his game like he did today — stop taking the threes, do the low-post thing — we have a chance,” said Cathy Freeman, a Chattahoochee High special ed teacher.

Although he’s only 24 and hasn’t suffered as long as most Hawks fans, E.J. Freeman said the Hawks surprised him by dominating nearly wire-to-wire Sunday.

“Coming into the game today I had cautious optimism,” said Freeman, a customer service rep. “It was like, ‘When is the other shoe going to drop?’ When we were up 20 with five minutes left, that’s when I started to breathe easy.”