NBA's hottest team rolls on By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 04/01/06 If Josh Smith's layup floats another inch, the Hawks might be celebrating their upset of the hottest team in basketball Saturday morning instead of nursing another loss. If Joe Johnson's Nikes hold firm and he doesn't hit the floor on a potential game-tying drive, the Hawks might be on those endless SportsCenter reruns as the conquerors rather than the conquered. If they box out Vince Carter just once late in the game, Dominique Wilkins' entry into the basketball Hall of Fame isn't the only reason the Hawks are a relevant topic in the sports world this morning. And if the NBA season was defined by what might have happened or what could have happened, then the Hawks might have something other than their 22-49 record after Friday night's perplexing 91-88 loss at home to the New Jersey Nets, winners of an NBA-best 11 straight games. "We had everything the way we wanted it and just couldn't get over the hump at the end," said Hawks co-captain Al Harrington. "One or two plays right there at the end and it could have been the difference. But it didn't happen. "And it's something we've been dealing with since the start of the season. We just didn't have enough to finish the job." The Hawks led most of the game and by as many as 11, while the Nets played at the Hawks' pace the entire night and shot just 35 percent (26-for-75) from the floor. And though the Nets outrebounded the Hawks 51-37, they had just seven assists to the Hawks' 23, as point guard Jason Kidd struggled to find a rhythm against a defensive package designed to limit his ability to dictate tempo. "We knew we were going to have to grind out a win," Carter said. "It's not an easy game when you come in to play the Atlanta Hawks. I don't care what their record looks like. One thing coach [Mike] Woodson has them doing is playing extremely hard. They come at you from start to finish." But when the game was on the line late, the Nets had the playmakers the Hawks did not. After Smith tied the game at 82-82 with a 3-pointer in front of the Hawks bench with 1:30 to play, both teams traded blows until the Nets, 43-28, were left standing. Carter drove on Smith and tipped in his own miss on his second try, for an 84-82 lead with 1:10 to play. Josh Childress tied the game for the Hawks on a baseline dunk with 55.6 seconds to play; he was fouled on the play but missed the free throw. Carter tipped in his own miss on the Nets' next possession for a 86-84 lead, and Johnson slipped on the Hawks' next possession, fouling Kidd as he lay on the floor. Kidd sank five of six free throws over the next 37 seconds to seal the win for the Nets, who avoided becoming one of the Hawks' playoff-bound victims this season. Half of the Hawks' 22 wins this season have come against teams with records of .500 or better. "I thought our effort was great," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson, whose teams was torched by Carter (26 points, nine rebounds) and Richard Jefferson (27 points, nine rebounds) but didn't allow anyone else to push them around. "From a defensive standpoint when you hold this team to 91 points and 34 percent shooting, you figure you win the game. We had our chances down the stretch. "We had a couple of defensive lapses, where we didn't block out. Vince missed a shot and then had a couple of put-backs, and we missed layups and a couple of key free throws. "They made some key plays that ended up putting it away for them. And we just didn't make the plays." 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0401hawks.html --

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