HAWKS
Winning Game 5 was the easy part for the Hawks. They got to do that at home.
Now comes the hard part: closing out the Miami Heat on the road, a place that hasn't been kind to these Hawks recently.
Game 6 in this first-round playoff series is Friday night in Miami, where the Hawks turned the series around Monday with a tough Game 4 win before a hostile crowd.
And if they want to move on to face Cleveland in the second round, they'll have win another road game in this series or come back to Atlanta for Game 7 on Sunday.
"Now comes the hard part," Hawks forward Josh Smith said. "When somebody is on the doorstep of getting eliminated, that's when it gets real. We just have to go back down there to Miami and handle business. We have to go down there with a business attitude and play our game."
The Hawks' celebratory mood Wednesday was tempered a bit before halftime when starting center Al Horford sprained his right ankle with 2:32 to play. Horford was sandwiched between Heat star Dwyane Wade and James Jones on a baseline drive to the basket and came down awkwardly. He had his ankle placed in an ice-compression boot at halftime and did not return.
"It did swell up a little bit, but we got on it so fast I think that helped," Horford said after the game. "I think (Thursday) will be the real test, where we can see how it is. But if I can get some treatment on it the next couple of days we'll see by Friday."
If Horford can't play, that means the Hawks would have to finish the series without two starters. Starting small forward Marvin Williams hasn't played since spraining his wrist late in Game 2 and is likely out for the remainder of the series.
"We can't let anything stop us," Smith said. "If we're trying to finish this thing off right, we have to grind through with whoever we've got in uniform."
HAWKS 106, HEAT 91: Joe Johnson's breakout game was long overdue. Four games into the Hawks' first-round playoff series against Miami, he still hadn't registered a signature performance.
Until Wednesday night, when he cranked up his offense and led the Hawks to a victory over Dwyane Wade's Heat in a critical Game 5 before a sellout crowd at Philips Arena.
Johnson finished with 25 points, six rebounds and six assists — by far his best all-around game of the series — as the Hawks moved one step closer to finishing off the Heat. They lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 coming up Friday night in Miami.
Johnson got plenty of help Wednesday, particularly from Flip Murray, who torched the Heat for 23 points, including 15 in the second half to keep the Hawks' double-digit lead safe.
"We finally found some offense in this series," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "Joe finally had a breakout game. I thought Flip Murray was huge coming off the bench. We were able to score a little bit tonight."
Wednesday's game was marred by rugged play on both sides. The teams were whistled for four technical fouls and one flagrant, on Wade in the second quarter.
A game the Hawks led by 23 points before halftime turned into a grappling match early. Wade and the Hawks' Josh Smith collided chasing a loose ball near midcourt with 3:47 to play in the first quarter.
Wade needed assistance to get up off the floor and into the Heat locker room, where he stayed until early in the second quarter.
Things got crazy minutes later when Solomon Jones fouled Wade on a drive to the basket with 9:55 to play.
Jones and Wade went nose-to-nose before Heat reserve center Jamaal Magloire interrupted by shoving Jones. Smith intervened on behalf of Jones, and by the time everyone was separated there were double technical fouls issued for all four players.
Wade was called for a flagrant foul 1 on a hard foul on Mo Evans on a fast break with 9:11 to play, a lick that served to inspire the Hawks. They went on a 35-17 run after that play to blow the game open.
"That's what playoff basketball is all about," Evans said. "It's as physical as anything you'll ever do in basketball. That's why when you have success, you know it was well earned."
NOTES, QUOTES
—Whether they win or lose this first-round playoff series, the Hawks will likely have to do it without starting small forward Marvin Williams.
He missed his third straight game Wednesday night at Philips Arena, and both he and Hawks coach Mike Woodson acknowledged that his sprained right wrist will "probably" cost him the remainder of the series.
Woodson said the fact that Williams can't use his right hand on either end of the floor prevents them from being able to use him in any capacity.
When asked if he thought Williams would see the floor before the end of the series, Woodson was glib. "Probably not," he said. "We have to concentrate on getting him healthy for whatever lies ahead."
Williams tried to work with his right hand Tuesday and airballed three free throws. He was on the floor in practice gear for Wednesday morning's shootaround but worked exclusively with his left hand.
"For me, if I can't be effective, I almost feel like I'd be doing more damage than good trying to play," Williams said. "I can barely dribble right now."
With veteran Mo Evans entrenched in the lineup in his place, Woodson said the Hawks would try to finish the series without Williams.
"He still can't shoot," Woodson said. "We're going to wait on him. And we have managed without him, which is a testament to his teammates. I've always said, when our backs are against the wall, somebody seems to step up out of nowhere and good things happen for our ballclub to help us win.
"And these guys are hungry, man. We earned the right to get to this point, and our guys are going to fight to the finish, no matter who is in uniform."
—One of these two teams, either the Hawks or the Heat, and perhaps both, will play Sunday.
If a Game 7 is necessary, it will be played Sunday. But if the series is wrapped up after Friday's Game 6 in Miami, the winner moves on to play in Cleveland on Sunday in the same 1 p.m. EDT time slot.
Evans played with Orlando last season and doesn't have fond memories about the quick turnaround from the end of the first round to the start of the second.
"You don't get a break," Evans said. "You have to bounce back quick and be ready to go for the next series. They're trying to do 40 games in 40 nights or whatever, so they don't have time to waste."
Woodson said the accelerated pace of games after the first round is an adjustment every team has to make.
"It comes down to now players really focusing in mentally and getting rest," he said. "And that's from the moment the playoffs begin until someone wins that (Larry O'Brien) trophy. There's so much going on, with practice, film sessions and everything else. But mainly, it's about getting guys rested and ready to go for the next game."
—In his ongoing tour of the playoff series, NBA commissioner David Stern made an appearance in the interview room before Game 5 Wednesday.
Stern praised the Hawks for their franchise revival of the last two seasons, which have included consecutive playoff berths. He also pointed out that the Hawks trail only Cleveland in new season-ticket sales for next season.
"That just shows if you wait long enough, good things will happen," Stern said. "It's very much a franchise on the march, and that wasn't always the case."
QUOTE TO NOTE: "They kicked our butts in pretty much every way possible. It turned into a highlight show after awhile. They were trying to embarrass us, but they did what they had to do ... and pretty much pounded us in every way, shape and form." — Heat coach Erik Spoelstra on the way his team got smacked around by the Hawks on Wednesday night.
ROSTER REPORT
ROTATION: Starters — Point guard Mike Bibby, Shooting guard Joe Johnson, Small forward Marvin Williams, Power forward Josh Smith, Center Al Horford. Bench — Guard Flip Murray, Guard Acie Law IV, Guard Mario West, Guard Mo Evans, Guard Speedy Claxton, Forward Thomas Gardner, Forward Othello Hunter, Forward Solomon Jones, Forward/center Zaza Pachulia, Center Randolph Morris.
PLAYER NOTES:
—F Solomon Jones turned in some quality minutes in relief after C Al Horford turned an ankle before halftime. Jones finished with just two points but had five rebounds, three assists and a steal.
—G Acie Law IV played five minutes and didn't make a dent other than missing a 3-pointer and having one turnover. His days in a Hawks uniform seem to be numbered, particularly if he can't leave any bigger footprint in a game than he did in Game 5.
—G Mo Evans continues to work at the small forward spot while Marvin Williams is injured. He didn't shoot the ball well Wednesday and he was 1-for-5 from beyond the 3-point line, but he did everything else well.
MEDICAL WATCH:
—C Al Horford (sprained right ankle) was injured in Game 5 of the Miami series. He hopes to be able to play in Game 6.
—F Marvin Williams (sprained right wrist) has missed three games and doesn't appear likely to play until at least next week.
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