Friday night, prior to his team's Game 3 loss to the Bulls, Hawks reserve forward Damien Wilkins marveled at teammate Josh Smith's physical gifts.
Said Wilkins, "He could be one of those guys that could average a triple-double if he wanted to."
Sunday night, with his team needing him to deliver, Smith nearly proved Wilkins a prophet. In arguably the most important playoff game of his career, Smith went bananas.
As the Hawks pulled out Game 4, Smith put his imprint all over the Philips Arena floor, scoring 23 points to go with 16 rebounds and eight assists.
"I thought Josh played a phenomenal game," coach Larry Drew said.
Smith's performance, along with the Hawks' improved defensive effort on league MVP Derrick Rose, leveled the series at 2 and secured a return to Philips for Game 6.
Smith finished the game on a tear. In the fourth quarter, he scored 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting with five rebounds and two assists as the Hawks outscored the Bulls 33-19. He roved on defense, challenging shots, grabbing rebounds and starting the break.
Said Wilkins, "He took the game over."
Over the course of his six-year career, Smith has drawn considerable scorn for shooting jumpers rather than playing closer to the basket. He still put up five shots from 19 feet and beyond, all misses taken in the first three quarters. He was 8-for-17 otherwise.
"We made some really smart decisions," coach Larry Drew. "I thought he did a phenomenal job with [shot selection], particularly in the fourth quarter."
Said Smith, "I just stayed with it and stayed aggressive, saw some cracks in the defense where I had an opportunity to dive (to the basket)."
He authored one of the plays of the night in the third quarter. In one quick movement, he pulled down an errant 3-pointer by Luol Deng, turned upcourt and unloaded a pass to Joe Johnson for a layup, a pinpoint strike worthy of Matt Ryan that covered about 65 feet.
The Hawks' defense of Rose was vastly improved from Friday, when Rose binged for 44 points on 16-of-27 shooting. The Hawks challenged him far more Sunday, particularly at the basket. Rose scored 34 points, but took 32 shots, making 12.
"He's such a great player; he's still going to get his points," Jamal Crawford said. "We tried to give him different looks so he couldn't lock in on any one thing."
More than in the first three games, the Hawks sent double teams at Rose to force him to give up the ball. They also heeded Drew's call to be more physical with him in the paint. Rose still was able to drive on guard Jeff Teague, particularly when Rose scraped him off on screens. But the Hawks retreated hard to the basket when he penetrated and had two and sometimes three defenders guarding the rim. Rose was 6-for-18 on shots from six feet and in. Five of those shots were blocked.
"No excuses," Rose said. "Put this game on me."
Further, Rose's teammates couldn't force the Hawks to pay for their Rose-centric strategy. After shooting 10-for-20 from 3-point range Friday, the Bulls were 3-for-16 Sunday night.
"Our guys were really focused on being pulled in," Crawford said. "Sometimes if you give up outside shots, that's what you've got to give up."
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