The writing on the board had neither an asterisk nor room for doubt: “Plane leaves for MIA 2:30 on Tues.”
That was the message in the Hawks' locker room hours before Game 6 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Thursday.
The Hawks could canceled that flight at halftime.
The Bulls, not the Hawks, will play Miami in the East finals.
The Bulls ended the series in six games with a punishing 93-73 victory over Atlanta at Philips Arena. They will open the East finals against Miami on Sunday in Chicago.
The Hawks had hoped to return to Chicago that day for Game 7 and put pressure on the top-seeded Bulls.
“It's disappointing,” Hawks center Al Horford said. “We wanted to keep playing and put ourselves in position to go to the Eastern Conference finals. We had a chance. It's tough because we felt like we had a good group of guys.”
The Bulls said they were ready to end the series because the Heat were resting while waiting for the winner of this series. Chicago close out the Hawks with a tireless, dominant effort.
Chicago suffocated the Hawks with its trademark defense and sharply exploited Atlanta's defensive attention to guard Derrick Rose. After taking a 27-15 lead late in the first quarter, the Bulls never let the Hawks get back within 10 points.
The Bulls put away the Hawks with a 6-0 burst early in the fourth quarter, capped by Rose's fast-break dunk. That basket pushed Chicago's lead to 76-55 and sent several Hawks fans for the exits.
Atlanta's unexpected postseason run ended with a whimper.
The Hawks beat favored Orlando in the first round and forged a 2-2 tie against the Bulls. They said they weren't discouraged by their 95-83 loss at Chicago in Game 5 because they came back to lead after trailing big early.
Atlanta was confident it would return to Chicago for Game 7 with a chance for the franchise's first berth in the East finals.
“We are very disappointed,” Hawks forward Josh Smith said. “We felt like this was our year to do something special. It didn't happen that way but we have no reason to hang our heads.”
Hawks general manager Rick Sund kept the team's core intact after the Magic swept Atlanta by an NBA-record margin of 101 points in the second round of the 2010 playoffs. Atlanta beat Orlando in six games in the first round and then won at Chicago in Game 1 to end a 15-game losing streak in the second round.
But the Hawks suffered a lopsided home loss in Games 3 and faded in a loss at Chicago in Game 5 after leading early in the fourth quarter.
“We're very close,” Hawks guard Joe Johnson said. “We let it slip away in this series. We went to Chicago and did what we had to do [in Game 1]. We didn't protect home court. We've got a lot of positive things but we have to go back to the drawing board.”
The Bulls led by 15 in the first quarter in Game 5 and were up 17 in the second quarter of Game 6. Smith's steal led to his fast break basket and he scored again at the rim to trim the lead to 45-35 at halftime.
The Hawks, doomed by their lackluster start, had no rally this time.
“I think we were fighting,” Horford said. “I would have been disappointed if we gave up and quit but you've for to give [the Bulls] credit.”
The Bulls shot 51 percent from the field in the first half. The Hawks prevented Rose from erupting for one of his scoring runs but the front court of Carlos Boozer, Luol Deng and Joakim Noah combined for 31 points and 14 of 20 shooting in the half.
Meanwhile Atlanta struggled to score against Chicago's blistering defensive pressure. There were few open shots for the Hawks and once the shots didn't fall they fell back into their habit of one-on-one play.
“It's a little frustrating but you have go to move the ball that much more and run the offense that much crisper,” Smith said.
Among the primary questions for the Hawks this offseason are the status of Sund and guard Jamal Crawford. Also, the Hawks' ownership group has enlisted a firm to search for potential buyers or investors.
Sund's contract is ending and the team's ownership has not commented on his status. Crawford can become a free agent in July, though it's expected that owners will lock out players when the labor deal expires on June 30.
Crawford sought a contract extension from the Hawks last summer but was rebuffed. Sund has said the team would do “everything in our power” to re-sign Crawford.
Crawford, whom Sund acquired in a trade before the 2009-10 season, said he's open to a return.
“I've definitely liked the experience,” he said. “But if I get to the point of July, it's basically been a year that we've been talking and at that point I would pretty much have to weigh my options.”
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