Sunday's Game 7 between the Hawks and Bucks tips off at 1:00 on ABC. Be sure to check out our Hawks blog, Peachtree Hoops, and our Bucks blog, Brew Hoop.
1:00 P.M.: Hawks, Bucks Find Themselves At Game 7
Preview courtesy of Sports Network.
The first Game 7 of this year's NBA playoffs is on tap this afternoon in Dixie, as the Atlanta Hawks host the Milwaukee Bucks in the decisive battle of this Eastern Conference quarterfinals series.
Jamal Crawford scored 24 points and Joe Johnson added 22, as Atlanta used a giant run in the third quarter to beat Milwaukee, 83-69, on Friday to force the deciding seventh game.
"It just happened to be one of those great third quarters," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "We finally bounced out of a funk offensively and were able to make our defense work for us. We rebounded the ball and were able to get it out and get some easy buckets."
Al Horford totaled 15 points and 15 rebounds for the Hawks, which lost the previous contest in the series, 111-104, at Philips Arena.
“In Game 5 we played great defensively, but we just didn’t handle our business coming down the stretch,” Woodson said. “I thought tonight we kept our composure and did everything we needed to do.”
Milwaukee, trying for its first playoff series win since 2001, was held to a franchise-low for playoff scoring and gave up 19 straight points in the fateful third quarter. The Bucks’ previous low was 74 points, on April 23, 2006 at Detroit in a series opener.
The Bucks, who have lost three consecutive opening-round series since falling to Philadelphia in the 2001 Eastern Conference finals, were ahead by three at the half, but went 3-of-17 from the field in the third quarter. They finished just 32.9 percent for the game.
"Guys weren't comfortable out there, they weren't relaxed," Bucks coach Scott Skiles said. "We had some blank stares going on out there."
Carlos Delfino led the Bucks with 20 points, but Milwaukee's starting backcourt tandem of John Salmons and Brandon Jennings combined to go 6-of-28 from the field for a total of 20 points.
“We’ve got one more, but we’ve got to strap it up and play Game 7,” Jennings said. “We won down there before so I know we can do it again.”
The Hawks will be playing in a Game 7 for the fifth time since moving to Atlanta and for the third consecutive postseason. Atlanta was 0-3 in Game 7s before breaking through in the quarterfinals vs. Miami last season. The Hawks lost Game 7s in 1979 (Washington); 1988 (Boston) and 2008 (Boston).
The Bucks haven't been in a Game 7 since the 2001 East finals when they lost to the Sixers. Their last Game 7 win came in the previous series that season when they defeated the Charlotte Hornets to advance. All-time, Milwaukee is just 2-6 in Game 7s.
Atlanta went 2-1 against Milwaukee in the regular season. The two clubs met three times in the postseason back in the 1980s, with the Bucks taking two of the sets in ‘83-84 and ‘88-89. The Hawks lone win came in the ‘87-88 season.
The winner of this series will play second seed Orlando in the Eastern Conference semifinals.
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