The Hawks’ hold on a playoff spot is gone. All gone.
If the Hawks are to make their seventh straight postseason appearance they will have to earn it over the final eight games of the regular season. They find themselves in the predicament following a 105-92 loss to the Bulls Wednesday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks (32-42, .432) fell .002 percentage points behind the Knicks (33-43, .434) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks, who only have six games remaining, drubbed the Nets 110-81 Wednesday at home. The Hawks do control their own playoff fate with two extra games and one fewer loss.
“It’s disheartening,” Elton Brand said. “We’ve been fighting all season long and we are in the playoff and as high as third place. For it to come down to the wire and not step up to the plate it’s definitely disheartening.”
The Hawks were at one point third in the conference before their current slide of 21 losses in the past 28 games. The latest loss also means the Hawks cannot finish above .500.
“It’s tough,” DeMarre Carroll said of the mood in the Hawks locker room. “We still control our own destiny. We are just making it more interesting.”
The Hawks made it easier on the Bulls by committing 16 turnovers, many unforced. Lou Williams had five turnovers and Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver each had four. They miscues, many unforced, led to 21 points for the Bulls.
“I think we had a lot of unforced turnovers,” Williams said. “I had five turnovers myself, which is uncharacteristic of how I play. I don’t really make a lot of high-risk plays. I think on two or three of them I just handed them the ball. I just had a lot to do with us not taking care of the basketball.”
The Bulls broke open a close game and took the lead in the second quarter. They would not trail the rest of the game. They used a 17-5 run between the third and fourth quarters to pull ahead when the Hawks had closed to within two points after trailing by as many as nine. They pushed their lead to a game-high 14 points in the final period.
Paul Millsap had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Teague added 21 points and Korver had 12 points on four 3-pointers.
The Bulls (43-32) have won three straight and five of their past six games. D.J. Augustin scored a game-high 23 points and Jimmy Butler and Kirk Hinrich added 17 points each as the Bulls placed six players in double-figures. The Bulls swept the season series, 4-0, in winning their sixth straight game against the Hawks.
“That is what he’s been doing all year,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “You look at a Chicago box score and Augustin’s got 33 (points), Augustin’s got 30, he’s got 28. He has been a huge boost for them. Tonight was very similar. We gave him a lot of attention but that’s the kind of season he is having to date.”
Augustin made four 3-pointers as the Bulls combined to make 12 of 25 long-range attempts.
The Hawks got as close as two points twice in the third quarter. After the second time, on two free throws by Mike Muscala with 2:06 left, the Bulls closed on a 8-4 run to take a 78-72 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bulls took a 57-49 halftime lead as Augustin hit a corner 3-pointer at the second-quarter buzzer. The basket was part of Augustin’s 14 second-quarter points off the bench.
The Hawks led by as many as seven points in the first quarter as they started by shooting 66.7 percent and made their first four 3-pointers to start the game. The Bulls responded in the second quarter and used a 16-3 run to open up a nine-point the Hawks could not overcome.
“Disappointed, of course, after the loss but we still feel like we have a chance,” Millsap said. “We still have a lot more games left. Try to tough it out and see what happens.”
The Hawks host the Cavaliers Friday. The Cavaliers pulled to within two games of the final playoff spot with a win over the Magic Wednesday.
