Players try to put debacle in past By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/13/06 Milwaukee — This is the beauty of the NBA schedule. Twenty-four hours after what seems like a team's best night, that same team can be humbled by one of their worst nights of a season. Or vice versa. The Hawks will get roughly 48 hours to chew on the memory of the debacle that was their Saturday night embarrassment against Chicago, a 95-90 loss at Philips Arena after a three-day rest. Tonight's game against Milwaukee at the Bradley Center presents the Hawks with a chance for atonement. "That's what I love about this league," Hawks co-captain Al Harrington said. "Whenever you want to fall in love with yourself for playing well, you get slapped back into place. And just when people are ready to write you off when you're struggling, there's another opportunity at hand. "What we do with it is totally up to us. Whether or not we can rebound from a tough night with a win will show what kind of character we have. I said it after the Bulls game, and I'll say it again: We had to get that one out of our system, and that's that. Now we move on." Moving on consists of two straight road games this week; the Hawks play the Knicks at Madison Square Garden on Wednesday night before returning home for Friday night's game against Utah. Moving on also means learning from their mistakes. The Hawks' shaky focus against the Bulls highlighted their tendency to ride a little too high when things are going well and to internalize things when they're struggling. Early griping to the officials about fouls shifted the attention, albeit momentarily, from the Bulls. They tried to snap out of it later, and they did rally from 14 down to within three points in the final minute. But their season-long late-game demons — missed opportunities on offense and mental breakdowns on defense — cost them again. With the Hawks on a tear inside the final three minutes, Josh Smith missed a dunk on a fastbreak with 2:14 to play and the Hawks trailing 88-83. The Hawks were late getting back on defense, and Chicago's Kirk Hinrich sank a jumper for a 90-83 lead that halted the Hawks' momentum. "When you're going down the stretch like that, every play is valuable when you're coming back," co-captain Joe Johnson said. "We had some turnovers late, which took the spirit out of us. But it's a part of the game. As far as the game goes overall, I'm glad we fought back and kept up our intensity to the end." That's another thing the Hawks could learn from the Bulls, a team still a notch or two above them on the NBA's rebuilding food chain. "I wouldn't say they are a role model for us," Harrington said. "But obviously we would love to be able to play at their intensity level for a whole ball game. Their defensive intensity is crazy. They don't have great defenders, but they make up for it in effort. "We have to find that rhythm again in our game and give it up for 48 minutes and we'll be fine." 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0313hawks.html --

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