Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 84, Magic 81

• The Hawks will never beat the Bulls playing like this!
• Chicago’s elite defense will bottle up all those jump shooters! If Jameer gets open layups on critical possessions what is D-Rose going to do to the Hawks?! The Hawks gained confidence from the Dwight Defense in this series but they don’t have such tricks for the Bulls!
• And don’t get me started on J.J.’s insistence on dribbling out possessions and taking bad shots in the face of defensive pressure! Chicago’s offense isn’t special but even if the Hawks manage to get a lead they will shoot themselves out of it! Josh might be able to bother Boozer but does anybody deliver more momentum-sapping bad shots and turnovers?
• And I haven’t even mentioned how Chicago is going to . . . “We will worry about Chicago tomorrow,” Marvin said.
• (UPDATE: Yes, blog people, I was trying to be facetious there.)
• The Hawks won ugly, but they did win. They may not have had to show so much resolve if they’d figure out how to play with leads, but they did show resolve. “Our will to come up with the loose ball, come up with the big plays down the stretch was big,” J.J. said.
• The Hawks overcame (another) bad offensive night by getting 14 offensive rebounds and converting 14 Magic turnovers (eight steals) into 19 points. So they found a way to score when they took and missed a lot of jump shots. That’s something.
• “It’s a bad feeling to let a team outwork you and they did tonight,” Dwight said.
• Hinrich left the game with what the team at first said was a right knee injury but later updated as a strained right hamstring. The Hawks said he will have an MRI on Friday. If he misses any games then obviously Atlanta’s chances against Chicago dwindle.
• The Hawks are in the second round for the third consecutive season. They got there by winning in 6 against the team that shellacked them last spring. OK, it’s not the same team, but it’s still Dwight, Jameer, Stan Van Gundy and their band of shooters.
• “This is a very hard-fought series,” L.D. said. “Coming into the series, not many people gave us a chance. A lot of people thought what we accomplished against this team in the regular season was a fluke. But our guys came into the series thinking they could win.”
• The Hawks achieved some rare franchise feats by both finishing this series early and winning as the lower seed. And now they will be picked apart between now and Monday as critics scrutinize their well-known weaknesses and question their credentials.
• It’s what should be expected for a team that often can’t seem to get out of its own way. The Hawks blew leads in Games 3 and 4 then nearly blew one on Thursday before stirring fans at Philips with another close W.
• In the aftermath, Jameer’s reservation with D-Rose for the second round was on the Hawks’ mind.
• “That kind of a slap in the face to us and our organization for him to come out and say something like that,” Al said. “I’m sure he’s a great guy and everything but at the end of the day, that’s uncalled for. You can say whatever you want but you have to be able to back it up.”
• Once again Atlanta’s offense moved outside as the minutes ticked off.
• After attempting 23 shots in the paint in the first half and making eight, the Hawks attempted 12 from close range and made seven after halftime. After earning six free-throw attempts in the first quarter, the Hawks took nine over the final three periods.
• Marvin, left with room to operate as the Magic focused on Joe and Jamal, made some big shots in the second half. Then he missed one and J.J. tapped it out to Jamal, who made two clutch free throws.
• “I just wanted to make a play,” J.J. said. “The play was designed as a pick-and-roll with Al and Jamal. We didn’t really come up with what we wanted but Jamal shot the ball and when it went up, I just tried to crash glass and somehow get my hand on it, and I did.”
• Joe needed 25 shots to get his 23 points. He started 1 for 8 and then made 9 of his next 17. In the fourth quarter, those included a deep 3 with the shot clock winding down; a nice slice to the basket for a 9-footer; a missed fadeaway 19-footer, and a nice reverse layup.
• That pretty much summed up his night: some good mixed with some bad and it all worked out at the end of his 46 minutes.
• “I really thought Joe got into a good rhythm,” Drew said. “He missed some easy shots but I thought he was really aggressive. I was going to ride him all night–not to run every play to him, but I was going to try to keep him on the floor as long as I could. I just felt he was going to will him to this win.”
• Josh, meanwhile, had his worst game of the series and at one point was booed by fans frustrated by his bad shots and careless turnovers.
• Hinrich was good on D again and also had Dwight flustered with some early dig-downs. Dwight turned it over on his first three post-ups. One came when Hinrich tied him up for a jump ball and then stole the tip.
• Dwight finished the series with outstanding production and efficiency. He scored 20 percent of his team’s points, had 29 percent of its rebounds and not only protected the rim on defense but disrupted Joe and Jamal on the perimeter.
• And yet Dwight’s offseason has started already.
• “There’s no need for me to comment on my future, so don’t even bring it up,” Dwight said. “I’m focusing on how I can get better for next year with the Magic.”

Michael Cunningham, Hawks beat