Bucks top Hawks 88-87 By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/13/06 Milwaukee — There may not be a more maddening or more stubborn team in the league than the Hawks, who continuously dig double-digit deficits only to spend the rest of the night battling their way out of those holes. They were at it again Monday night at the Bradley Center, trailing by 17 in the third quarter before rallying for a late lead only to lose 88-87 on a missed shot at the buzzer. Seven of the Hawks' last 11 games have been decided by five points or less. The push came from unexpected places for the Hawks, 20-41, as Josh Smith finished with a career-high 25 points and Salim Stoudamire 21 off the bench. The Hawks got just a combined 16 points from co-captains and leading scorers Joe Johnson and Al Harrington. Johnson and Harrington had the game in their hands with 8.6 seconds to play and the Hawks trailing by the final margin. Johnson ran up the floor and weaved his way around the 3-point arc before finding an open Harrington for a deep 3-pointer that, if made, would have allowed the Hawks to finally defeat the Bucks. But Harrington's shot barely drew iron and the Hawks were left with another head-scratching finish to a game they appeared to have within their grasp just seconds earlier. "The glaring thing tonight was that me and Joe couldn't make a shot," Harrington said. "If we do anything to help these young guys out we win this game going away. And that's what hurts. They did everything you wanted them to and at the end we got the look and I just didn't knock that shot down." Johnson did finish with 17 assists and nine rebounds but he had just nine points, on 3-for-13 shooting from the floor, having been under constant duress from the Bucks' double-teaming in the backcourt. Harrington finished with just seven points, five rebounds and five assists. He made just 2-for-11 from the floor, either of his last two misses would have given the Hawks leads that could have sealed the game. "We're long past the stage where we are working hard just to be in games," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson, who battled the officials all night. "I'm not concerned about anything other than winning games. But in order to do that we have to get a fair shake. And right now that's the frustrating thing. Our guys are playing their tails off and I don't feel like we're getting a fair shake." Still, the Hawks their chances. Smith brought them all the way back, he scored three straight jumpers during a two-minute span that saw the Hawks go from an 84-79 hole with 3:46 to play to an 85-84 lead on his pull up jumper with 1:46 to play. But Smith fouled out with 46.5 seconds to play and the Bucks clinging to an 88-85 lead. Joe Smith scored four straight, on a jumper and two free throws, to finish the scoring for the Bucks, 31-32 and still in the thick of the race for the eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. "We're still playing for something, too," Josh Smith said. "We're out there every night trying to do what every other team is doing. But we're taking lumps from the officials in the process. And that's tough to swallow." The best sign for the Hawks came at halftime, when they trailed 46-42 after trailing by more than 11 early with hardly any offensive production from their top two scorers. They got a combined four points from Johnson and Harrington before the break. Stoudamire helped fill the void, scoring 12 points off the bench before the break. And Smith had 11 before halftime. Smith brought the Hawks all the way back with seven straight points, his 3-pointer with 1:59 to play before the break tied the score at 42-42. But that momentum was floored a minute later when Bucks rookie Andrew Bogut slammed Smith to the floor as he attempted a dunk. Smith missed both free throws and had to have his right wrist taped for the remainder of the game. 資料來源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0314hawks.html --

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