The Hawks took care of their side of things Friday night, beating the Knicks 116-104 on the road to sweep New York for the first time in franchise history. The game was never really close, as the Hawks jumped out to a 9-0 lead and led by double-figures for nearly the entire game. The Knicks closed within 5 at one point in the 4th, but Atlanta capitalized on several turnovers to push the lead back out and come away with a crucial road victory.

As expected, Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby were clutch when the team needed them, combining for 58 points in the game including 9-15 from beyond the arc. Josh Smith was a force as well, chipping in with 24 points and making several spectacular plays on both ends.

The magic number is now 2, as the Pacers kept pace by beating the Sixers 85-76 in Philadelphia. The Hawks could clinch tomorrow in theory, if they can beat the Celtics and have the Bobcats take down the Pacers in Indianapolis. Both games are at 7:00 ET, so there won't really be the opportunity for much scoreboard watching (at least not for the players).

It goes without saying that tonight's victory was important, but what impressed me the most was how the team came out and attacked from the get go and never let up.

New Jersey, by virtue of their loss to Toronto, was eliminated earlier in the evening, but the Hawks win would have taken them out of play anyway.

Tomorrow should be something else at Philips, I recommend being there if you can.