CHARLOTTE — No one got hurt.
That was the best news for the Hawks in their regular-season finale Wednesday night, and it was the most important factor.
The Hawks have been looking ahead to their playoff series against Orlando for a week and played like it again in a 96-85 loss to Charlotte.
Coach Larry Drew’s bigger concern was his team’s health, especially after he saw Lakers center Andrew Bynum and Chicago’s Ronnie Brewer suffer injuries in games Tuesday.
“That’s always a fear in this particular situation,” Drew said before the game. “Hopefully we can get out of this game as injury-free as we can and move on to the playoffs.”
The Hawks (44-38) finished the season with nine fewer victories than last season after closing with a season-long six-game losing streak. Four of those defeats came after their playoff seeding was locked in at No. 5 and Drew began to limit minutes for his starters.
But Hawks regulars were outplayed in all four games while they were on the court. Now they will have to find their edge over two days of practice before Game 1 at Orlando on Saturday night.
“Hopefully the rest will do us some good,” Hawks guard Kirk Hinrich said. “I still feel like everyone in this locker room believes we are a dangerous team. I am just ready to get going. I think everybody feels that way.
“Since we clinched our spot, locked it in, everybody is kind of like, ‘Let’s get to the playoffs and do it.’”
For the second consecutive game, Hawks bench players gave the more spirited effort after the starters put the team in a hole. The Hawks were down 27-11 by the time the last starter took a seat on the bench in the first quarter.
The reserves combined to score 10 points on 4-of-8 shooting in roughly 15 minutes of the quarter. The starters managed only eight points while missing eight of 12 field-goal attempts in roughly 45 combined minutes.
With the Hawks down 61-43 at halftime, Drew opened the second half with Hinrich playing alongside reserves Damien Wilkins, Marvin Williams, Josh Powell and Zaza Pachulia. That group started the half with a 13-4 run that cut Charlotte’s lead to 65-56.
The Hawks got as close as 78-74 with less than eight minutes to play. The Bobcats responded with a 7-0 run for an 85-74 lead, and the Hawks couldn’t get closer than nine points.
Hinrich was the only Hawks starter to play more than 14 minutes. Powell scored 16 points, and Wilkins and Jamal Crawford each finished with 14.
Collins ‘fine’
Hawks center Jason Collins missed his third consecutive game since suffering a sprained ankle. Collins is the key part of the Hawks’ strategy to defend Magic center Dwight Howard.
“I think he will be fine,” Drew said before the game. “He got some work in yesterday. He came over [Wednesday] early and got some work in. He should be ready to go.”
Playoffs schedule
The NBA on Wednesday night released the full schedule for the Hawks-Magic series:
Game 1 at Orlando, 7 p.m. Saturday (ESPN); Game 2 at Orlando, 7:30 p.m. Tuesday (NBA TV); Game 3 at Atlanta, TBD April 22 (ESPN2); Game 4 at Atlanta, 7 p.m. April 24 (TNT); Game 5 at Orlando, TBD April 26 (TBD); Game 6 at Atlanta, TBD April 28 (TBD); Game 7 at Orlando, TBD April 30 (TNT). Games 5-7 are if necessary.
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