TOP-SEED FAILURES
Since 1984, when the NBA went to the current 16-team playoff format, only five times has a No. 8 seed defeated a No. 1 seed in the opening round. The Hawks can become the sixth team to do so with one more win.
Year; Teams; Outcome
2012; Bulls lost to 76ers; 4-2
2011; Spurs lost to Grizzlies; 4-2
2007; Mavericks lost to Warriors; 4-2
1999; Heat lost to Knicks; 3-2
1994; SuperSonics lost to Nuggets; 3-2
Now comes the tough part.
The Hawks are one victory from winning their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series against the Pacers. The Hawks lead 3-2, and the clinching victory could come in Game 6 on Thursday night at Philips Arena.
The series has been a back-and-forth affair, with the eighth-seeded Hawks winning Games 1, 3 and 5 and the top-seeded Pacers winning Games 2 and 4. Maybe it’s something about odd numbers for the Hawks.
“If you’ve been in a playoff series, the close-out games are always the toughest,” Kyle Korver said after the Hawks’ convincing 107-97 victory in Indianapolis on Monday, the team’s second road win of the series.
A victory would have historical significance.
Since the NBA adopted a 16-team playoff format in 1984, only five times has a No. 8 seed eliminated a No. 1 seed. Only three of the five occurred in best-of-seven series. Several Hawks were involved in those upsets. Coach Mike Budenholzer was an assistant for the Spurs when they were eliminated by the Grizzlies in 2011. Korver was on the Bulls team that was ousted by a 76ers team that included Lou Williams and Elton Brand in 2012.
In the 60 series over the past 30 years, No. 8 seeds are 5-55 in first-round matchups. They are 63-194 in games, a .245 winning percentage.
“It’s going to be tough,” DeMarre Carroll said of closing out the series. “They are going to come out punching, come out fighting. We are going to be back home. We feel like the last game at home we had it, and we just gave it to them. Put a ribbon on it. Our crowd, they deserve for us to come out and give 110 percent effort and that is what we are going to do.”
The Hawks had a chance to take a commanding lead in the series at home Saturday. They failed to hold a 10-point third-quarter lead and a five-point lead with under five minutes remaining. All that the Hawks gained by stealing home-court advantage away from the Pacers in the series opener was gone. Until Monday.
The Hawks took back the edge by winning a second time at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. Count the final regular-season game, and the Hawks are 3-1 on the court in April.
The Hawks quickly laid that Game 4 loss to rest. Buried it deeply, in fact. The Hawks trailed by a point after one quarter and then put on one of the greatest shooting displays in playoff history. They outscored the Pacers 41-19 in the second quarter as they shot 81.3 percent (13-of-16) from the field, including 81.8 percent (9-of-11) from 3-point range.
Korver has said several times during this series that every playoff game is its own monster. The Pacers will check under the bed often. Korver credited Budenholzer with helping the team put the disappointment of Game 4 behind them.
“Coach Bud was great (Sunday),” Korver said. “He talked about how it’s the first team to four (wins). There is not a must-win until the other team has won three. We just saw so much stuff that we needed to clean up from the end of the last game. I thought guys came out and paid attention to detail and pushed the pace. Then we got a lot of guys hit shots. That always helps us. We’ve been shooting those 3’s all series, just for some reason tonight they decided to go in and gave us a huge start.”
The winner of the Hawks-Pacers series will face the winner of the Wizards-Bulls series in the second round. The Wizards led the Bulls 3-1 before Game 5 on Tuesday night.
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