Yes, the Atlanta Hawks came up short (in the best of seven series) against the No. 1 seeded Indiana Pacers, but that does not discard their valiant effort in the 2014 NBA playoffs.
Before game seven, a big decision was made and that was to not suspend superstar Paul George and Rusual Butler for the rubber match of the series. The reason for the possible suspension was during an altercation between Hawks forward Mike Scott and Pacers guard George Hill (in game six), George and Butler left the vicinity of the Indiana bench and stepped inbounds, which (if ruled correctly) is an automatic ejection and a one-game suspension in their next matchup. Neither were suspended and it was obvious that the Pacers caught a big break, but there was still basketball to be played regardless.
Afterwards the Hawks were still in position to possibly shock the world with a series victory.
Atlanta got off to a 4-0 lead and only trailed by one point at the end of the first quarter. Then with period number two coming, the Hawks had to get something going (as they would the rest of the game), but were only able to post a mere 17 points. The Pacers lead was now 47-36.
With the second half on it's way it looked as if Indiana was going to continue to lay the hammer on Atlanta, but instead the Hawks came out shooting and outscored the Pacers in the third quarter. With their backs against the wall, Hawks were about to play perhaps their last 12 minutes of the 2013-14 season. Still were not able to come up with the big rally they were looking for, the Hawks ended up losing with a final score of 92-80.
Unlike the previous few games, the Hawks could not score when they needed to. There were a couple missed calls down the stretch, but you have to continue to play on. Individual spurts of scoring is all the Hawks could garner due to the fact that they were never able to put up a long, extended run of offensive success, which is a shock considering the shooters that Atlanta has.
"We just couldn't score for a good, long stretch," said Hawks guard Kyle Korver, who led the entire league in three-point shooting percentage. "In the second half, we had the mindset that we would go out guns blazing. I think we got a little too 3-happy and shot maybe a few too many. When you don't make them, it creates long rebounds and they took those and got out and ran."
Atlanta had plenty of chances/opportunities to get the ball rolling and knock down shots throughout the entirety of the ballgame, but could not do so (which was their eventual downfall).
"We had a good number of very good looks, good opportunities, and that's a big part of the game," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "You have to make some shots, and tonight we weren't able to do it at the rate that we needed to."
Before game seven, a big decision was made and that was to not suspend superstar Paul George and Rusual Butler for the rubber match of the series. The reason for the possible suspension was during an altercation between Hawks forward Mike Scott and Pacers guard George Hill (in game six), George and Butler left the vicinity of the Indiana bench and stepped inbounds, which (if ruled correctly) is an automatic ejection and a one-game suspension in their next matchup. Neither were suspended and it was obvious that the Pacers caught a big break, but there was still basketball to be played regardless.
Afterwards the Hawks were still in position to possibly shock the world with a series victory.
Atlanta got off to a 4-0 lead and only trailed by one point at the end of the first quarter. Then with period number two coming, the Hawks had to get something going (as they would the rest of the game), but were only able to post a mere 17 points. The Pacers lead was now 47-36.
With the second half on it's way it looked as if Indiana was going to continue to lay the hammer on Atlanta, but instead the Hawks came out shooting and outscored the Pacers in the third quarter. With their backs against the wall, Hawks were about to play perhaps their last 12 minutes of the 2013-14 season. Still were not able to come up with the big rally they were looking for, the Hawks ended up losing with a final score of 92-80.
Unlike the previous few games, the Hawks could not score when they needed to. There were a couple missed calls down the stretch, but you have to continue to play on. Individual spurts of scoring is all the Hawks could garner due to the fact that they were never able to put up a long, extended run of offensive success, which is a shock considering the shooters that Atlanta has.
"We just couldn't score for a good, long stretch," said Hawks guard Kyle Korver, who led the entire league in three-point shooting percentage. "In the second half, we had the mindset that we would go out guns blazing. I think we got a little too 3-happy and shot maybe a few too many. When you don't make them, it creates long rebounds and they took those and got out and ran."
Atlanta had plenty of chances/opportunities to get the ball rolling and knock down shots throughout the entirety of the ballgame, but could not do so (which was their eventual downfall).
"We had a good number of very good looks, good opportunities, and that's a big part of the game," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "You have to make some shots, and tonight we weren't able to do it at the rate that we needed to."