After the Bulls blasted the Hawks in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference semifinals it raised familiar questions about their mental resolve.
But Hawks guard Jamal Crawford noted that they've answered such skepticism before.
“We have had some tough moments in this season,” Crawford said before Game 4. “Last series against Orlando, we lost Game 5 and everyone was like, ‘Oh, no, Orlando is going to come back [from down 3-1] now.'
“We handled that adversity. I think we will be fine.”
Those “A-T-L” chants that broke out at Philips Arena as the game ended Sunday were proof that Crawford was right.
The Hawks beat the Bulls 100-88 on Sunday to tie the best-of-seven series at two games each.
“I think we are a very resilient group,” Crawford said after the Hawks snapped a nine-game home losing streak in the second round. “I wouldn't have said that before, especially last year. I think we are growing.”
The Hawks last won at home in the second round in 1996. That's also the last time they won more than one game in the second round.
The Hawks are two victories away from the franchise's first conference finals since moving to Atlanta in 1968. Game 5 is Tuesday at Chicago, where the Hawks won the opening game of the series.
“We are going to have to play near-perfect basketball,” Hawks center Al Horford said. “They are tough in their building. We know they are going to be ready.”
The Hawks finished off the Bulls on Sunday with a handful of spirited plays during a 10-0 run. Most of them involved forward Josh Smith.
Smith made two free throws to give Atlanta an 82-80 lead. He later forced a miss by Derrick Rose and started a fast break that ended with Horford's layup for an 88-84 lead. Smith found Horford under the basket for another layup that pushed the lead to 90-84 with 2:42 left.
An inadvertent whistle led to a jump ball at mid court. Smith won the tip and again passed under the basket to Horford, who finished with a dunk.
After Chicago's Kyle Korver missed a 3-point attempt, Hawks guard Jeff Teague scored on a stumbling, twisting drive for a 94-84 lead with 1:26 to go. The Bulls were done once Crawford answered Luol Deng's score with a 3-pointer.
Smith finished with 23 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists and two blocked shots. He was the catalyst at the finish after a slow start.
“I just stayed with it, stayed aggressive, saw some cracks in the defense where I had opportunities to dive,” Smith said. “Tonight I did a good job of not settling [for jump shots]. When I am able to do that it helps us out, especially when they double team off me.”
Joe Johnson scored a team-high 24 points for the Hawks and also had five assists. Horford had 20 points and reserve center Zaza Pachulia had nine rebounds.
The Hawks were in position to win at the end because they were energetic from the start. It was a turnaround from Game 3, when coach Larry Drew called a timeout after less than a minute because the Hawks allowed an uncontested layup to Rose.
Atlanta made 10 of its first 12 field-goal attempts with assists on eight of those baskets. The stagnant, scattered offense from Games 2 and 3 was replaced by crisp passing and smart shot selection.
“They were moving the ball, making easy plays and beating the double teams,” Rose said. “That really changed the game.”
The Hawks made energetic plays all over the court.
Marvin Williams blocked two shots at the rim. Smith got a rebound and passed to Horford for an alley-oop dunk. Teague corralled a loose ball and sped end-to-end for a layup, zipping past 7-footer Omer Asik at the basket.
That score gave the Hawks a 32-29 lead and prompted Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau to call a timeout. But the Hawks kept rolling.
Smith rebounded Korver's missed 3-point attempt and took off for the basket. He missed on a spin move at the basket but tipped it in and, after Korver missed another 3-point try, Crawford scored on a pull-up jump shot.
That 8-0 run gave the Hawks a 36-29 lead and electrified the arena. The Bulls got the lead back down to 47-46 at halftime but the arena was still buzzing after Hawks forward Damien Wilkins missed a dunk attempt at the buzzer.
“This is what we needed at home,” Hawks center Zaza Pachulia said during a halftime interview shown on the scoreboard. “We had to focus our energy and effort.”
It carried over to the second half.
An 11-2 run early in the third quarter gave the Hawks a 60-53 lead, their largest of the game up to that point. But the Bulls closed the quarter with a 17-7 burst that staked them to a 69-67 lead entering the final period.
Rose scored seven consecutive points for Chicago to open the fourth quarter but the Hawks kept pace. Smith's 3-point play gave the Hawks a 78-76 lead and they pulled away with the late run.
The Hawks had to find a way to slow Rose after he scored a playoff career-high 44 points in Game 4. He scored 34 points in Game 4 but needed 32 shots to do it.
The Hawks sent aggressive double teams at Rose with the goal of pushing him to the perimeter and making him give up the ball. The strategy worked because the Hawks were sharp with rotating to find Chicago's shooters when Rose passed out of the double teams.
The Hawks also wanted to make it harder for Rose when he went to the basket. In the first half they blocked two of his shots on drives and sent him to the free-throw line four times.
Atlanta's treatment of Rose was part of an overall more physical defensive effort.
“It’s the playoffs,” Crawford said before the game. “We are not getting easy baskets so they shouldn’t, either.”
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