Playoff bound.
The Hawks clinched the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with a convincing 98-85 victory over the Heat Saturday night at Philips Arena.
Jeff Teague carried them there with another aggressive performance. The point guard scored 25 points in the win as the Hawks clinched the eighth and final spot and eliminated the Knicks. It is the Hawks’ seventh straight postseason appearance, the longest current streak in the conference, although they will enter this season with a sub-.500 record. The Hawks will face either the Heat or the Pacers in the first round next week.
“We want to continue to build our habits and continue to improve,” said coach Mike Budenholzer, repeating a refrain he was used all season. “Our group has really fought hard this year. They have competed hard and they’ve got what they deserved.”
The Hawks (37-43) have won three straight and five of the past six games to earn the playoff spot. The win was the second straight over the Heat and tied the season series, 2-2. One of the Hawks’ losses came in overtime in Miami, something the team knows if they meet in the postseason.
By clinching the playoff berth, the Hawks are locked into the 15th pick in the NBA draft.
“It feels good,” Kyle Korver said. “It feels good to do it on a win. Everyone is talking about New York and whatever. Let’s just go and take care of our own games and go out there and win. We had a big week. We played a few tough teams. We had a stinker in there too. But I feel like for the most part we are playing better basketball; we are healthier and things are clicking a little bit; guys are attacking and making good reads; our defense is better. We are going to have to keep on doing that if we want to go into the playoffs and play well.”
The Hawks led by 11 points midway through the fourth quarter after DeMarre Carroll stole a Chris Bosh cross-court pass and started a four-on-one break. It ended with a Mike Scott dunk to put the Hawks up 83-72 with 6:09 remaining.
“Coach gets mad at me when I gamble,” Carroll said. “I was just like ‘I’m going to gamble. If he gets mad at me, he gets mad at me. If he don’t, he don’t.’ It was just one of those things with my instincts. I’ve been playing for a long time. I kind of figure he was going to throw it to him because he hadn’t been shooting the ball well. I just ran into the passing line.”
The Hawks would push the lead to 15 points as Lou Williams hit back-to-back 3-pointers.
Teague has averaged 21 points over the past six games in leading the Hawks in their recent play. Williams finished with 23 points, including 18 fourth-quarter points. Carroll (17 points), Scott (12) and Paul Millsap (11) finished in double-figure scoring.
“Jeff, recently, has been aggressive on a consistent basis,” Budenholzer said. “I feel like that habit for him, of generating the offense and being our engine, I just feel like he is getting more and more consistent. And I’m getting asked that same question after more and more games. That means he is doing it on a regular basis. He knows how important that is to us.”
The Heat (54-26) are left fighting with the Pacers for the top seed in the conference. They have lost four of their past six games. LeBron James finished with a game-high 27 points, 10 coming in the fourth quarter with the Hawks holding a comfortable lead. Dwyane Wade returned after missing nine straight games and finished with 24 points.
The Hawks took a 69-62 lead into the fourth quarter after holding the Heat to just 11 third-quarter points. Carroll and Teague each scored eight points in the third period.
The teams played a back-and-fourth first half and went into intermission tied 49-49.
The Hawks took an eight-point advantage in the first quarter with a 13-2 run in which Teague scored the last nine points. The Hawks would push their advantage to nine points in the second quarter and lead 33-24.
The Heat answered with a 25-9 run to turn the deficit into a seven-point advantage. Wade scored the first nine points of the run. By the time he came out of the game in the second quarter he had made all seven attempts. The Hawks closed the period with a 7-0 run to deadlock the game after two quarters.
The Hawks have two games remaining in regular season – home against the Bobcats Monday and at the Bucks Wednesday – before the postseason begins.
Notes: Prior to the game, a moment of silence was observed for Lou Hudson, the Hawks' all-time great who died Friday. The Hawks also wore a black stripe on their jerseys.
Pero Antic dressed but was only expected to play in an emergency. The Hawks center has been dealing with a sore right ankle. He missed Wednesday’s game against the Celtics. He played 18 minutes against the Nets Friday and had four points and one rebound.
“I think he is dealing with an ankle we are trying to manage, keep healthy and keep him in a good place,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said before the game. “I think him not playing tonight his best.”
Elton Brand made his third straight start at center.
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