Smith Pours In 35 As Hawks Top Magic

NBA

The Atlanta Hawks squandered a 20-point halftime lead, then rallied behind Steve Smith’s 35 points to beat the Orlando Magic 104-99 Monday night and avoid a sweep in the Eastern Conference semifinals.

The Hawks, who still trail 3-1 in the best-of-seven series, led 67-47 at the break, but saw that big margin evaporate in the first 8:44 of the third quarter. The Magic began the period with a 30-9 run that put them in front 77-76 for the first time since the opening minutes of the game.

The Magic led 83-82 heading to the final period, but Smith, who was only 1 of 6 from the field in the third quarter after scoring 23 points in the first half, regained his touch. He jammed in a rebound with 3:30 remaining to put Atlanta up 96-92, then hit a 10-foot jumper as the 24-second clock wound down for a 102-97 lead with 40 seconds to go.

After Nick Anderson’s basket closed the gap to three, Smith found Christian Laettner open under the basket. Dennis Scott was forced to foul and Laettner made one of two free throws with 11 seconds left to seal the victory.

Smith finished 12 of 31 from the field, including 7 for 14 on 3-pointers. It was his career playoff high, eclipsing his previous mark of 27 points.

Smith had been criticized for not shooting enough in the series.

“I put more pressure on myself to take more shots,” he said. “I looked at the tape and saw I had been passing up shots. I came out more aggressive.”

Orlando, which will try to wrap up the series at home Wednesday night, lost for the first time in the playoffs after six straight victories.

“You get a win, you get a lot of confidence in yourself,” Atlanta guard Mookie Blaylock said. “We lost three but we’re still here.”

The Magic were led by Horace Grant and Anfernee Hardaway with 29 points apiece.

Shaquille O’Neal, meanwhile, had a miserable game. He was 7 of 17 from the field and was even worse at the foul line - 5 of 17 - to finish with 19 points.

Grant finished 14 of 17 from the field and also had 20 rebounds, carrying the load while O’Neal struggled.

Hawks 104, Magic 99

Orlando (99) - Scott 3-12 0-0 8, Grant 14-17 1-2 29, O’Neal 7-17 5-17 19, Anderson 2-9 0-0 5, Hardaway 10-19 9-11 29, Shaw 2-7 1-2 7, Koncak 0-0 0-0 0, Bowie 1-2 0-0 2, Wolf 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 39-84 16-32 99.

Atlanta (104) - Augmon 4-8 5-6 13, Long 5-9 1-2 11, Laettner 6-11 5-7 17, Smith 12-31 4-6 35, Blaylock 5-9 0-1 14, Rooks 2-4 1-2 5, Henderson 0-2 0-0 0, Ehlo 3-4 0-0 7, Jordan 1-1 0-1 2. Totals 38-79 16-25 104.

Orlando 29 18 36 16 - 99 Atlanta 44 23 15 22 - 104

3-Point goals-Orlando 5-21 (Shaw 2-4, Scott 2-8, Anderson 1-6, Hardaway 0-3), Atlanta 12-23 (Smith 7-14, Blaylock 4-7, Ehlo 1-1, Long 0-1). Fouled out-None. Rebounds-Orlando 61 (Grant 20), Atlanta 50 (Long 7). Assists-Orlando 22 (Hardaway 11), Atlanta 25 (Blaylock 11). Total fouls-Orlando 20, Atlanta 24. A-12,643 (16,378).