Hawks Avoid Elimination

April 29, 1998 / 12:01 AM EDT / CBS/AP

The Atlanta Hawks were in no mood for another Charlotte comeback.

After blowing double-figure leads to lose each of the first two games, the Hawks turned up the defensive pressure on Glen Rice and the Hornets, who matched the lowest-scoring playoff game in NBA history in a 96-64 loss Tuesday night.

"We played to our strength," said Steve Smith, one of six Hawks in double figures with 15 points. "Our strength is defense. We decided, `Let's go out there and play defense. If the offense isn't there, at least the defense will be there."'

Charlotte, now leading the best-of-5 series 2-1, tied the record for fewest points set by Portland in a 1996 postseason game at Utah and equaled by Orlando against Miami last year.

The Hawks, primarily Tyrone Corbin, did a magnificent job shutting down Rice, who averaged 29 points in the two victories at Charlotte. He had only eight points in Game 3, hitting just 3-of-13 from the field.

Corbin got in Rice's face and made him work for shots off the dribble. When the chance came for a double-team, the Hawks rotated quickly and always seemed to be a step ahead of the Hornets.

"When I had the ball, they made sure they had two or three guys around me," Rice said. "They took me out of the ballgame. There's no one person in the league that's going to slow me down. It has to be a team effort."

Corbin agreed.

"It wasn't just me," he said. "I did a good job of staying with him early, staying close to him, making him put ball on floor little bit and not get a good rhythm going. And the team did a good job rotating over."

The Hawks, who were led by Mookie Blaylock with 16 points and seven assists, played with energy and emotion that was missing their first two games. They posted the largest playoff victory since the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1968, easily beating a 23-point rout of Indiana in 1994.

If the Hawks win Game 4 Friday night at the Georgia Dome, the deciding game would be Sunday at Charlotte.

"We understand we can't rely on what we did tonight for that game," Corbin warned.

But for one night, at least, the Hawks were having fun again. Corbin punched his fist in the air after hitting a 3-pointer late in the first half when Atlanta was pulling away. Blaylock had a big grin when Alan Henderson swished a 30-footer that didn't count because the whistle had blown. Pig Miller pointed his finger toward 19,745 screaming fans after finishing a drive.

In Game 1 at Charlotte, the Hawks led 41-26 in the second quarter, only to lose 92-85. In the second game, Atlanta squandered a 13-point lead in the first quarter and was beaten 97-87.

But the Hawks showed they had some staying power with the series on their home court. After building a 30-18 lead t the end of the first quarter on Chucky Brown's 3-pointer, Atlanta didn't let the Hornets get closer than seven the rest of the way.

The Hawks outscored Charlotte 16-4 in the final six minutes of the first half, taking a 51-32 lead to the locker room when Blaylock hit a 3-pointer just before the horn sounded.

Vlade Divac tried to rally his teammates, shouting loudly, "Come on, let's go!" But no one was listening.

The Hornets missed their first five shots in the second half and wound up scoring only 12 points in the third quarter, matching the lowest-scoring period by an opponent in Atlanta's playoff history.

The period finished off with Chucky Brown hitting a driving layup, then Eldridge Recasner coming up with a steal to set up Christian Laettner's 21-footer, giving the Hawks a 74-44 lead.

Atlanta shot 50 percent from the field, compared with 43.6 percent in the first two games. Charlotte also had a drastic change from its first two games, hitting only 34 percent (25-of-74) after shooting 54 percent in Games 1 and 2.

Anthony Mason with 12 and Divac with 11 were the only Hornets to reach double figures. Charlotte, in the playoffs for the fourth time, equaled team postseason records for fewest points in each of the first three quarters: 18 in the first, 14 in the second and 12 in the third.

"It's just an L," coach Dave Cowens said. "They all hurt."

Notes: Only four teams have rebounded from an 0-2 deficit to win a first-round best-of-5 series: Denver in 1994, Phoenix in 1993, New York in 1990 and Golden State in 1987. ... J.R. Reid, hampered by a hamstring pull, played for the Hornets, while Matt Geiger sat out with a groin pull. ... It was the first NBA playoff game ever held at the Georgia Dome, which is serving as the Hawks' temporary home for two seasons while a new arena is being built nearby. ... Twice before, the Hawks held an opponent to a 12-point quarter in the playoffs. Both times, the opponent was Indiana, in 1994 and '96. ... The largest Hawks playoff victory ever was 145-101 over Detroit in 1958, when the franchise was based in St. Louis.