Atlanta Hawks
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Knight to step down ATLANTA — Billy Knight says he’s leaving the Atlanta Hawks organization “in much better shape than it was in when I took over.” Knight stuck to his slow, often painful plan to build with youth. The plan meant enduring repeated last-place finishes, but the Hawks showed steady if slow improvement and finally ended a nine-year playoff drought this season. Knight’s critics have said the Hawks’ climb to the playoffs wouldn’t have taken so long if the general manager had enjoyed more consistent success with his high draft picks. Knight, ... 
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Atlanta's Williams suspended one game ATLANTA — Atlanta forward Marvin Williams was suspended Wednesday for the opening game of the 2008-09 season for committing a flagrant foul, penalty two in the Hawks' Game 7 playoff loss in Boston. Williams knocked Boston's Rajon Rondo to the floor with 9:09 left in the third period of the Celtics' 99-65 victory on Sunday. Williams, trying to prevent a breakaway basket by Rondo, put an arm across Rondo's chest and knocked the guard to the floor. Rondo lay for a few minutes while Celtics coaches and teammates checked on him. After reviewing the ... |
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Hawks fans encouraged for 2009 ATLANTA — After a stirring run through the playoffs, one that actually got the fans of Atlanta excited about their NBA team, the Hawks headed into the offseason Monday with one major issue hanging over the team: Will Mike Woodson return as coach now that his squad is actually showing signs of hope? The Hawks pushed the heavily-favored Boston Celtics to seven games in the opening round of the playoffs before Atlanta’s season ended with a 34-point blowout in Beantown. Still, for a team making its first playoff appearance in nine years, ... |
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Hawks beat down by Boston in Game 7 BOSTON — Kevin Garnett took a behind-the-back pass from Paul Pierce, slammed in the dunk to make the lead three dozen points and then slashed his hand across his throat to signal what the Atlanta Hawks already knew. “It’s over,” he told the crowd. The game. The series. The surprising little scare Atlanta put into the NBA’s best. Garnett had 18 points and 11 rebounds, Pierce scored 22 points and the Celtics turned back the pesky Hawks with a 99-65 victory Sunday in Game 7 of their playoff series ...
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Hawks, Celtics surprised to be playing a Game 7 WALTHAM, Mass. — The Boston Celtics played hard all season for home-court advantage in the playoffs. They just didn’t expect to need it this soon. The Celtics are back in Boston and hoping to finish off the pesky Atlanta Hawks today in Game 7. It’s the last first-round series still going — a bit of a shock considering that the Celtics were the best team in the NBA during the regular season, and the Hawks the worst of the 16 to reach the postseason. "Clearly, we’d have loved to have ... |
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Hawks force Game 7 ATLANTA — The Atlanta Hawks just won’t let go of their first trip to the postseason in nine years. The playoff team with the worst record did it again to the team with the best mark, forcing an improbable Game 7 with the Boston Celtics, as Joe Johnson hit a crucial 3-pointer with 1:07 remaining and the Hawks held on for a 103-100 victory Friday night. The Hawks, just 37-45 during the regular season, have now beaten the Celtics three times in the space of a week to set up a deciding game in a ...
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Hawks hoping for another home win ATLANTA — The Hawks were back home Thursday, feeling a lot more comfortable as they watched film and practiced for nearly two hours at Philips Arena. “We’re very confident,” said guard Joe Johnson, who is averaging 21.8 points in the series. “We’re 2-0 at home. We’ve been playing some pretty good basketball here. We’ve just got to continue that.” But those hopeful words come with a mighty big caveat: Even if Atlanta manages to beat the heavily-favored Celtics in Game 6 Friday night, the series would be decided in Boston.
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Hawks head home down 3-2 The Associated Press
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Hawks ready to play in Boston ATLANTA — After pulling up at Philips Arena in his white Hummer H2, Mike Bibby strolled past an admiring security guard, who wished him luck through the rest of the playoffs. "We’re not supposed to talk to the players," she said as the Hawks point guard turned the corner, "but I can’t help myself." The lovefest is occurring all over Atlanta. Talk radio stations were flooded with calls about the city’s long-ignored NBA team. Cars cruised along downtown streets with Hawks flags flapping from their windows. Who knew they ... |
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Atlanta rallies twice to even series 2-2 ATLANTA — Forget about a Boston sweep. The Hawks are headed back to Beantown all tied up with the mighty Celtics. Joe Johnson scored 35 points — 20 in the fourth quarter — and Josh Smith added 28 points and seven blocks for Atlanta, which surprised the Celtics again 97-92 on Monday night to even the best-of-seven series at two games apiece. A Game 5 that many never expected to happen is now on, Wednesday night in Boston. The Hawks, who had the worst record (37-45) of any playoff team, overcame two ...
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