CHICAGO—The Hawks knew what was at stake for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Tuesday.
The series was tied at two games each and they'd already won at Chicago in Game 1. Do it again and they would return to Philips Arena with a chance for their first-ever berth in the East finals.
And for a moment it looked like the Hawks might pull it off. They led the Bulls early in the fourth quarter but then couldn't score or get stops while fading to a 95-83 loss at the United Center.
The Hawks return to Atlanta for Game 6 on Thursday needing a victory to avoid elimination in the best-of-seven series.
“We've got to protect our home court,” Hawks center Zaza Pachulia said. “We've still got a chance. It was still close game. We just have to think about playing the right way for 48 minutes.”
Atlanta had its chances to put the pressure on the Bulls with a victory on Tuesday. The Hawks had a 70-69 lead early in the final period but couldn't close as Bulls guard Derrick Rose kept scoring and they kept fouling and throwing the ball away.
After Taj Gibson's three-point play pushed Chicago's lead to 76-70, the Hawks called a timeout to regroup. But Al Horford got trapped near the basket and threw away a pass, leading to Rose's layup.
The Hawks were down 80-74 when Josh Smith forced a miss by Rose. Horford collected the rebound but Ronnie Brewer stole his outlet pass and scored to give Chicago an 82-74 lead.
After Johnson scored, Rose converted a three-point play that extended Chicago's lead to 85-76. Horford's basket cut the lead to 85-79 with about five minutes left but Chicago responded with an 8-0 run that finished the Hawks.
Chicago got more physical in the fourth quarter and Atlanta's offense bogged down with several stagnant possessions. The Hawks scored just 15 points, missed 11 of 16 shots and had four turnovers in the period.
“We just lost our composure,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “I don't know if it was their pressure or that we did not have the [energy].”
The Hawks were plagued early by foul trouble, poor shooting from guards Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford and soft defense. The trailed 32-17 in the first quarter but were within 48-42 at halftime and earned their first lead of the game at 64-63 late in the third quarter.
The lead changed six more times from there, the final time when Rose scored a fast break basket that made the score 71-70 early in the fourth quarter. The Hawks couldn't close and now must win two games in a row to advance.
“The series is not over,” Hawks forward Josh Smith said. “We have to go in and play with a ton of energy on Thursday. We have to do a better job keeping Derrick Rose our of out paint. If we do that, we should be coming back here for a Game 7 [on Sunday].”
Rose scored 11 of his game-high 33 points in the fourth quarter. All four of his field goals in the period were within three feet of the basket and he also made all three of his free-throw attempts.
Rose's strong finish wasn't unexpected. But Gibson, a defensive specialist who had averaged 6.5 points in the series, also scored 11 points in the final period.
Hawks guard Jeff Teague continued on his unlikely roll with team highs of 21 points and seven assists without a turnover. He's been Atlanta's most consistent player during series after being stuck at the end of the rotation during the season and playing sparingly in the first round.
In the third quarter Teague scored 11 points and made all five of his field-goal attempts. He scored on runners and acrobatic drives even as Chicago's big men towered over him—he opened the third quarter with a scoop shot over 7-footer Omer Asik that staked Atlanta to its final lead.
The Hawks stuck with their strategy of trapping Rose to make him give up the ball. It worked in Game 4 because Atlanta's help defense was sharp and Rose's teammates were passive when the ball swung around to them.
This time the Hawks were a step slow and Luol Deng and Keith Bogans shook free. Deng aggressively attacked the basket while scoring 15 points in the first half and Bogans scored eight consecutive points to stake Chicago to a 32-17 lead.
Those baskets capped a 14-2 run for the Bulls that coincided with Smith taking a seat with two fouls. Smith's energetic play had sparked the Hawks to victory in Game 4 and he was having a similar impact when he left this game.
The reserves, led by Pachulia, rallied the Hawks. Pachulia scored six points during a 13-2 Atlanta run that cut the lead to 36-30 early in the second quarter.
Atlanta's offense continued to flow when the starters returned later in the period but its defensive effort was stymied by fouling. The Bulls earned free throws on four consecutive possessions, making 6 of 8 tries, and Carlos Boozer ended the period with two more free throws for a 48-42 Chicago lead.
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