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*Photo via Getty Images
The Atlanta Hawks played no games tonight and handled business against the Brooklyn Nets, coming away with a 111-87 series clinching win.
The Hawks finished with the best record in the Eastern Conference, the Nets finished under the .500 mark, tonight it showed.
The Hawks played their style of basketball; ball-movement, player-movement, up-tempo and high energy. And the results were there, tonight they had 34 assists, 23 fast-break points, and forced the Nets into 15 turnovers. The Hawks had a nice shooting night as well, shooting 50 percent from the field and 40 percent from three-point land. When the Hawks do all these things they look like the dominant team we saw in the regular season.
For the other team, the Brooklyn Nets, well, it was typical Nets. They don’t show up when it matters most. This game was similar to a game seven Brooklyn lost two seasons ago to the Chicago Bulls. The Nets forced a game seven to only receive a whooping from the Bulls on their home-court. Tonight’s game was a little similar, the Nets made this a competitive series to only suffer a big loss in a must-win game on their home-court. The lack of leadership is most evident in these situations, something that needs to be addressed, how, we don’t know.
The winner of each game of this series lead after the first quarter, tonight was no different.
The Hawks displayed energy from the tip, hitting two threes early, and executing on both sides of the ball. The Nets didn’t help matters, deciding to forget about you know, Kyle Korver, maybe the best three-point shooter in the league.Korver was able to convert and hit a few shots, and so were the Hawks. Atlanta shot 72 percent from the field and 71 percent from three in the first quarter. They also managed 10 assists and eight fast-break points, playing Hawks basketball.
As you would imagine the Hawks finished the quarter up 36-23, the type of performance you would expect from a team with NBA Finals aspirations.
The second quarter began with the Hawks maintaining their lead. The Hawks did hit a little turbulence, going a little cold from the field. The Nets capitalized, and went on a 7-0 run, allowing them to only finish the quarter down 51-45. There were opportunities to make it even closer, but they came up short. Still, it looked like we in for another competitive game, like the previous five in this series.
The third quarter was not pleasant for the Nets, Deron Williams committed two straight turnovers allowing the Hawks to get out to an 8-0 run. The Hawks did not stop there, next thing you know they were up 17 after DeMarre Carroll and Kyle Korver threes. The Nets decided to just roll over and the Hawks swooped in for the kill. The Hawks saw their lead soar to 26 points.
The Hawks put on a show in the third quarter, outscoring the Nets 41-21, and finishing the quarter up 92-66.
This game was essentially over, the Nets made a tiny run to cut the lead to 18 in the fourth, but nothing came about. The Atlanta Hawks will move on to face the Washington Wizards.
Player of the Game: Paul Millsap. A few Hawks players could have received this honor, but Millsap’s game stood out. He scored 25 points, grabbed nine rebounds and dished out six assist all in 31 minutes.
Dud of the Game: The Nets. Just like the Bucks, the Nets will take this one as a team. They lacked energy from the start, especially considering their situation.
Stat of the Game: The Hawks outscored the Nets 23-2 in fast-break points. The Hawks made it a point to push the ball early and often.
This series ended up going how many expected. The Nets did make it a lot harder than most expected, and stretched the series to six. The Nets even had plenty of chances for a better shot to win the series, but came up short. Every game in Atlanta the Nets were able to make it close late, but never get over the hump. A typical occurrence from the Nets.
The Hawks may not of played a great series, but made plays when needed, and closed out games and the series. Even with that said the Hawks didn’t look half as dominant as the regular season. They now will take on the Washington Wizards a team that can challenge the Hawks even more than the Nets. The Hawks must continue their play from game five and six if they want any chance at beating the Wizards.