The end came quickly and decisively.
The Hawks’ historic season is over. The demise came with a loud thud.
The Cavaliers dismantled the Hawks 118-88 in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference finals Tuesday night at Quicken Loans Arena to complete a series sweep.
Next for the Cavaliers is the NBA Finals.
Next for the Hawks is summer vacation.
“They just outplayed us,” Paul Millsap said. “Simple as that. We stuck to our game plan. They came out firing on all cylinders. We were playing from behind all game. It was tough. The crowd got into it. They just beat us.”
The Hawks reached heights this season never before seen in Atlanta. They made it to the Eastern Conference finals for the first time. They won two playoff series for the first time since 1958, when the franchise was located in St. Louis and won the NBA championship. They set a franchise record with 60 wins. They won 19 consecutive games, the fifth longest streak in league history, including all 17 in January. Four starters were named to the All-Star game. They had the Coach of the Year.
The Hawks can reflect on those positives after the sting of their performance in the conference finals is gone.
“I’m proud of everybody in that locker room,” Jeff Teague said. “We had a great season. Guys played hard. We did a lot of things in Atlanta basketball history this year. We won a lot of games. But we ended on a disappointing note. I think everybody in the locker room is disappointed.
“It’s early for our team. It’s only our second year together. We are looking forward to getting back in the gym and get ready for next year.”
The Cavaliers took a double-digit lead nine minutes into the game. They led by as many as 12 points in the first quarter, 20 in the second, 25 in the third and 31 in the fourth. Teague scored the game’s first basket for the Hawks. It would be their only lead and lasted 20 seconds.
Cavaliers star LeBron James simply wouldn’t let the series return to Atlanta. He sure wasn’t going to let the Hawks become the first of 117 teams to trail a playoff series 3-0 and come back to win.
James finished with a near triple-double of 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists and didn’t play the fourth quarter. Kyrie Irving returned after missing two games and scored 16 points. Tristan Thompson, who the Hawks had no answer for all series, had a double-double of 16 points and 11 rebounds.
Teague led the Hawks with 17 points. Paul Millsap had a double-double of 16 points and 10 rebounds. For the second consecutive game, the Hawks played without starting shooting guard Kyle Korver (right ankle).
The Hawks struggled with their outside shooting all series — particularly from 3-point range. They were 26-of-111 for the series, a meager 23.4 percent. One of the hallmarks of the regular season disappeared in the playoffs. It hurt.
“I’m proud of our group,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “In the playoffs you learn and grow a lot, including a night like tonight. It’s not something anybody wants, but we’ve always talked about learning and growing each day, each experience. Throughout the playoffs we’ve done that. We’ll learn from tonight. We’ll learn from this series. We’ll be better moving forward.”
The upcoming summer will be an important one for the Hawks. Millsap and DeMarre Carroll, two-fifths of the starting lineup, will be unrestricted free agents. Re-signing one or both of them will go a long way in preserving the continuity and building on this season’s success.
In addition, Elton Brand, Pero Antic and John Jenkins will be unsigned. Thabo Sefolosha and Korver will be rehabbing from season-ending surgeries.
Budenholzer did not want to speculate on next season so soon after this season ended.
“I will say that this is a hell of a group and to bring them back would be a huge priority,” he said.
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