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Magic aim to even series in Atlanta

Apr 24, 2011 - 2:39 PM (Sports Network) - The Atlanta Hawks hope to seize control of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals set with Orlando on Easter Sunday when the two teams meet in Game 4 at Philips Arena.

The Hawks are a leg up in the series after Jamal Crawford scored 12 of his 23 points in a chippy fourth quarter on Friday, including a three-pointer off the backboard in the final seconds, as Atlanta held on for an 88-84 victory over Orlando to take a 2-1 lead in the set.

"I didn't call bank. I think the bank is closed right now," Crawford said of his big shot."

Crawford played nearly 29 minutes off the bench and sparked a key run during the fourth, helping the Hawks lock down the pivotal Game 3. Joe Johnson added 21 points, Josh Smith scored 15 with 10 rebounds and Al Horford had 13 points.

"We wanted to come home and really establish ourselves, particularly in the first [game]," said Hawks head coach Larry Drew. "We thought that coming into the game that they were going to give us their best shot, and I thought they did."

Dwight Howard collected 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Magic, while Jameer Nelson also had a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists.

"I thought we played with much more energy in the second half, and that got us back into it," Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said. "But this is the playoffs and you can't play 24 minutes of defense."

Orlando dressed 11 players with backup guard Chris Duhon sitting because of a sprained left ankle. Both teams will be shorthanded for Game 4 on Sunday after an altercation with 2:22 remaining led to the ejections of Magic guard Jason Richardson and Hawks center Zaza Pachulia for fighting, following a hard foul by Pachulia on Howard. Howard also was given a technical following video review.

Pachulia and Richardson were both suspended for Game 4 on Friday by the NBA.

The Magic shot just 8-for-28 on three-pointers in Game 3, with Hedo Turkoglu hitting just one of his six tries. Orlando's big gun is now only 3-for-17 in the series from long range.

"He's not shooting the ball well, so he ends up taking bad shots," Van Gundy said. "He gets more hesitant, then it's a vicious cycle that we've got to get him out of. Clearly, we need him to shoot the ball a lot better and to make better decisions on when to shoot it."

In last year's playoffs against Atlanta, the Magic recorded the largest victory margin in a four-game sweep in NBA playoff history, winning the series by a total of 101 points. The Hawks lost all four contests in the set by an average of over 25 points per contest and the closest they ever came in the series was a 98-84 setback in Game 4.

The two teams have met twice in the postseason previously, last year's shellacking by Orlando along with a 4-1 Magic win in the 1995-96 Eastern Conference semifinals. Overall, the Magic are now 9-3 versus the Hawks in the playoffs.

Game 5 of the set will be back in Orlando on Tuesday.