Hawks even series 2-2 Atlanta's success comes down to two words: Energy and effort

ATLANTA -- The fans at Philips Arena are very good at three-letter chants. But the one heard Sunday night sounded a lot better to the home team.
As the waning seconds ticked down in Atlanta's 100-88 win over Chicago in Game 4 of the Eastern Conference semifinals, the fans yelled, "ATL, ATL, ATL." That was in stark contrast to Friday's Game 3, when they went "MVP, MVP, MVP" in homage to recently honored Bulls guard Derrick Rose.
"That's good to hear," said Hawks guard Jamal Crawford. "We pay attention to that. I understand Rose is a great player so he has his fans. But if we come out with energy and effort, I think our fans will support us."
Energy and effort were hard to find in a 99-82 home loss in Game 3 to the Bulls, which started with Atlanta coach Larry Drew calling timeout 49 seconds into the game. But it was back Sunday as the Hawks were able to tie the series 2-2.
"That's the million-dollar question there," Drew said of why there was such a difference.
Well, here's one reason. For years, Drew, who previously was a Hawks assistant, has been trying to get Atlanta's Josh Smith not to settle for so many jumpers and to attack the basket.
If one thought a lineup change on Sunday, with Smith moved from power to small forward, might result in Smith hoisting even more jumpers, guess again. He attacked the basket with regularity, totaling 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists.
"I just stayed aggressive," said Smith, who switched positions due to Jason Collins being inserted at center, Al Horford moving from center to power forward and Marvin Williams going from small forward to the bench. "I saw some cracks in the defense and I did a good job at not settling."
You'd think it would be easy for Smith to realize he can be a terror when he attacks the basket regularly. But he's still trying to figure it out as a seven-year veteran.
It also has been hard for the Hawks to figure out a way to slow down Rose, who scored a career-high 44 points Friday. But they were able to do that Sunday.
That also was a result of the Hawks coming out with great energy. They threw bodies at Rose all night to stop his penetration, and it worked. Even though he scored a game-high 34 points, he shot just 12-of-32.
"It was a tough game, but we'll make no excuses," Rose said. "If they double team in the next game, we'll just have to do a better job of executing."
Judging from what happened Friday, it looked as if the Bulls would be in position in that next game, which is Tuesday in Chicago, to close out the series. But that was before the Hawks, who always seem to be pogo-stick like when it comes to intensity, came out fired up.
"We played like a desperate team," Drew said.

After being moved to SF, Josh Smith (right) comes alive and posts 23 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. (US Presswire)

Especially down the stretch. The Hawks closed the game with a 16-4 run after the score had been tied 84-84 with just more than four minutes remaining.
Rose had two turnovers during that period. One came after an inadvertent whistle had resulted in a jump ball when Rose was being closely guarded by Crawford while shooting a 3-pointer with 2:27 left and the Bulls trailing 90-84.
"I blew my whistle and I didn't mean to," official Bennett Salvatore said of the play in which the Hawks won the jump ball. "I didn't think it was a foul. Having watched the replay after the game, it was a foul and I should have called it. I made a mistake."
The Bulls made plenty of those themselves during a fourth quarter in which they committed six turnovers. That was helped by the Hawks being aggressive two days after Friday's siesta of a game.
Smith had 11 points and five rebounds in the fourth quarter. All four of his buckets came on inside shots.
"When you have the ability to drive like that, don't make it easier on anybody," Crawford said of Smith's tendency to settle.
"He was All-Star caliber. When he's playing like that, it's almost impossible for a team to beat us," said guard Joe Johnson, who led the Hawks with 24 points.
The problem is Smith doesn't always play like that. He entered the game averaging just 12.7 points in the series and 13.8 for the playoffs, well below his regular-season average of 16.5.
Smith, a native of the Atlanta area, heard boos Friday.
"The media is trying to T.O. me," said Smith, in what later was called by a Hawks publicist a reference to Terrell Owens (not as if that cleared up a lot). "If you all want to blame it all on me for losing Game 3, it's cool. I'll take it. I'm a man."
When the buzzer sounded, though, there were no boos heard. Smith pushed his shirt out and pointed to "Hawks" on the front.
The fans, meanwhile, were busy chanting "ATL, ATL, ATL." They could have chanted "MVP, MVP, MVP" at Smith for the way he played Sunday, but that would have been way too confusing.