8:00 - Marvin hits his first jumper of the game, and boy was that important. As well as everyone played in the first half, Marv took only 1 shot and had 2 points. The Hawks came out a little sluggish after the half, but fortunately the Celtics are still struggling from the field. 55-55.6:50 - Josh Smith shows his diverse offensive repertoire, tossing in a left hook to tie the game at 57-57.
5:37 - Joe splits the defense with a crossover and finger rolls the Hawks back in the lead at 59-57. I don't really know what to think right now. On the one hand, if the Celtics could score at all (aside from Garnett that is, who has 6 of their 9), they might have a sizable lead on the home team. On the other hand, the Hawks have missed several wide-open looks at 3s, and if a couple of those had dropped, it might be Atlanta with a big advantage. Aaaaaah, I can't handle the swings!
4:27 - Marvin hits another jumper to regain the lead, 61-60, after another late 3 from the Celtics. They are hitting daggers in this series. You play good defense for 22 seconds, then they drop one in. It's very discouraging to me, but the Hawks seem to be handling it well.
2:55 - Ok, first real gut check time for Atlanta. The Celtics are on a 7-2 run, and have a jumpball upcoming between Kevin Garnett and Mike Bibby. The crowd noise has faded a bit, but one big basket will get them right back in it.
2:28 - Are you kidding me? Another jump ball between Bibby and Garnett? Can he get on Horford's back to get a fighting chance?
1:45 - Ok, this is not good. James Posey hits a three after another Hawks turnover and it's now 72-63 Celtics. The Celtics have shut down the Atlanta attack in the third, as the Hawks have only 12 points so far in the quarter. Some of the credit goes to the Boston D, but we aren't executing on offense either.0:00 - 12 minutes to play, and the Hawks trail 75-65. I don't know why, but they have totally gone away from what was working in the first half. Mike Bibby was held scoreless in the quarter and took only 2 shots, and the team as a whole was 6-17 from the field. The defense is doing ok, but the offense has to get it going in the final stanza if the Hawks want to send this back to Boston tied.
