Crawford: ‘You have to let it go'

On a night when he was honored as the NBA's best sixth man, Jamal Crawford was unable to build on his reputation as one of the game's strongest finishers.

"This has to be (only) a memory," Crawford said. "If you think about this, you'll already be down going into Milwaukee. You have to let it go and come out with a win. It's not over."

Perhaps no one on the Hawks roster anticipated this series as much as Crawford, who after 10 NBA seasons finally made his playoff debut. After seeming to find his form in Game 4, when he shot 6 for 12 in the Hawks' loss, Crawford was presented with his Sixth Man Award before the game.

Applause rained down on Crawford from Hawks fans, appreciative of his hot scoring touch and late-game fearlessness. It turned out to be the highlight of the evening.

With the Hawks' wobbling in the fourth quarter, Crawford could not pull his team out of its funk. He was 1 for 7 in the fourth quarter. His only basket in the period was a 3-pointer with 4:48 to go, a basket that appeared pivotal as it followed a Luke Ridnour 3-pointer that cut the Hawks' lead to four points, the smallest it had been since midway through the third quarter.

However, he finished the game with five misses in a row, four after guard Joe Johnson fouled out. Crawford finished the game 4 for 18, one of his poorest shooting games of the season. He also had four turnovers.