Short-handed club is just short By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 04/05/06 East Rutherford, N.J. — The game should have been over after the New Jersey Nets stopped for a breather to admire a 14-0 run and their 13-point lead in the first quarter Tuesday night at Continental Airlines Arena. The Nets should have been breathing easy when another 13-0 run pushed their lead to a seemingly insurmountable 21 points as the third quarter ended. But games are never over that early when the Hawks are involved. It wasn't until Joe Johnson was whistled for an offensive foul on Vince Carter with 8.9 seconds to play and the Hawks trailing by two, that the crowd was able to exhale. The Nets escaped with a draining 96-94 win. "That [charging foul] was a tough call, and it could have gone either way," said Johnson, who led the Hawks with a game-high 33 points on 12-for-17 shooting from the floor. "If it goes our way we have a chance to tie the game and maybe send it to overtime. But it didn't. And you have to live with it." The Hawks have to live with their second near upset of the Nets in five days, having pushed the Nets to the limit in a 91-88 loss at Philips Arena last Friday. Carter knocked down two free throws after the offensive foul on Johnson for a 96-92 lead and Anthony Grundy finished off the scoring for the Hawks with a layup with just one second to play. It was the third loss in a row and the 14th in their past 17 games for the Hawks, 22-51, who played with just nine healthy players. But they made the Nets, winners of an NBA-best 13 in a row and now 45-28 on the season, work for every single point on the night they clinched their fourth Atlantic Division title in five years. When you're facing the NBA's hottest team with a lineup held together with athletic tape, ace bandages and guts, what more could you ask for? "These guys just never give up," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "It doesn't matter who we play or who suits up. These guys have so much competitive fight in them that it keeps them in games that you might not think they should be in. It says a lot about our ballclub." "The New Jersey Nine," as one player jokingly referred to the Hawks healthy contingent before Tuesday's game, was more than up to the task of dealing with the Nets. They just weren't nearly deep enough with the Nets riding the kind of wave that only the NBA's elite have this season. Undermanned and overmatched the entire night, the Hawks simply refused to go away. Down 78-57 at the end of the third quarter, they were within a point when Donta Smith caught a lob from Johnson to cut the Nets' lead to 82-81 with 5:16 to play. Donta Smith drained a 3-pointer the possession before that and Johnson a fast break layup off a steal before that to fuel the Hawks' frantic rally. Donta Smith finished with a career-high 13 points off the bench, Grundy 11 and Al Harrington 10. Josh Smith struggled through a 3-for-15 shooting night and finished with just eight points, but he grabbed 12 rebounds and dished out a career-high-tying eight assists. Esteban Batista came through with eight points and a career-high 12 rebounds. Carter led a balanced Nets effort with 27 points, including four of the Nets' final six from the free throw line. But the Hawks defense held the Nets to 38 percent shooting from the floor (33-for-86) and had everyone in the building thinking that win streak was in danger. 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0405hawks.html --

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