The Atlanta Hawks staved off the underdog Milwaukee Bucks to complete a nerve-wracking series triumph with a 95-74 Game 7 victory Sunday.
After avoiding elimination with a Game 6 win on the road Friday, the Hawks followed up with a strong performance and advanced to the Eastern Conference semi-finals where they will meet the Orlando Magic.
“A lot of you guys wrote us off [after Game 5] and that’s a shame because if you understand playoff basketball, anything is possible,” Atlanta coach Mike Woodson told reporters. “These guys didn’t stop believing, and to bounce back like we did, and go to Milwaukee and win was unbelievable.”
Jamal Crawford scored 22 points with six assists and Al Horford recorded 16 and 15 rebounds for the Hawks who used swarming defense and rebounding to overwhelm the Bucks.
Atlanta took control early, closing the first quarter with nine straight points before building a 20-point advantage in the second.
Milwaukee shot just 32 percent from the field and was out-rebounded 55-34 in their season-ending defeat.
Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings led the way with 15 for the Bucks who enjoyed their first postseason since 2006 and managed to put a scare into the third-seed Hawks despite playing without injured starting center Andrew Bogut.
After trailing 2-0 in the best-of-seven series, Milwaukee shocked Atlanta by winning three straight games to take a 3-2 series lead.
■LAKERS 104, JAZZ 99
AFP, LOS ANGELES
Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 31 points in the fourth quarter and the Los Angeles Lakers defeated Utah in Sunday’s opener of their NBA second round Western Conference playoff series.
Spanish star Pau Gasol added 25 points and 12 rebounds and together with Bryant sparked a 15-6 run by the Lakers over the final 3:16 to bring the Lakers a victory in the best-of-seven matchup.
Gasol’s three-point play midway into the fourth quarter evened the game at 85-85 and snapped an 0-for-10 shooting start to the period for the Lakers.
Bryant made a baseline jumper while being fouled and hit a free throw to complete the three-point play and give the Lakers a 94-93 lead with 3:16 to play.
“It was tough,” Bryant said. “But when it got really tough for me, I just checked myself in.”
Bryant added a jumper with 80 seconds remaining and after Deron Williams answered with two free throws for Utah, Laker forward Lamar Odom rebounded a Bryant miss and scored to put the Lakers on top 98-95.
After a Jazz turnover, a driving layup by Bryant with 22 seconds remaining gave the Lakers a 100-95 edge. Bryant answered a Carlos Boozer basket with two free throws in the dying seconds and Gasol added two more late to seal victory.
The Lakers hit 14 of their first 16 shots from the field, capping the spurt by making nine in a row, for a 28-17 lead. Bryant was 5-for-5 in the run, which helped the Lakers lead 30-23 after the first quarter.
Utah’s Deron Williams scored 17 points in the first half but Gasol and Bryant each had 12 to give the Lakers a 53-45 half-time edge.
The Jazz, who trailed by as much as 14, had a 13-4 run to pull within 63-60, but the Lakers stretched the lead back to 81-73 entering the fourth quarter.
Utah answered with an 12-1 run to start the fourth quarter, the Jazz reserves taking advantage of the Lakers’ bench to give Utah a lead for the first time since 10-8, setting up the closing fireworks.
“It is kind of repetitive,” Williams said. “We had a chance to win this game, but we couldn’t make the plays down the stretch. Kobe made some unbelievable shots, and that was pretty much it.”
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