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Howard, Magic try to stave off elimination vs. Hawks

Apr 26, 2011 - 2:40 PM (Sports Network) - Most observers thought Orlando would be putting the finishing touches on its first round playoff series with Atlanta right about now.

Instead, thanks to a prolonged shooting slump. it's the Magic that will be trying to stave off elimination when the two teams tangle in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals tonight in Central Florida.

The Hawks bent, but never broke in Game 4 Sunday, snuffing every spark of an Orlando comeback. Jamal Crawford had 25 points off the bench and Joe Johnson scored 10 straight at the end of the game, leading Atlanta to an 88-85 victory over the Magic and a 3-1 series lead.

Johnson finished with 20 points, including four key free throws in the last 20.2 seconds to help the Hawks hold off a desperate Orlando team that started cold, but grew pesky as the game wore on.

In fact, the Magic had a chance to even things in the waning seconds, but Hedo Turkoglu was stripped by Al Horford before regrouping and misfiring on a three-pointer at the buzzer.

The fifth-seeded Hawks now will have three chances to close out Orlando starting tonight. Only eight teams in NBA history have rebounded from a 3-1 hole to win a best-of-seven series.

"We have to come out on edge," said Horford who had 14 points and a team-high 12 rebounds. "The job's not done. We have to get the next game."

Dwight Howard had another monster game for the Magic, scoring 24 of his 29 points in the second half and pulling down 17 rebounds. Gilbert Arenas had 20 points off the bench, but Orlando shot under 40 percent, dragged down by a sub-28 percent performance in the first half.

"This is what I told the players: It's difficult, but once we lost Game 1 in Orlando, the thing that was clear was we were going to have to win our other three home games and one in Atlanta," said Orlando coach Stan Van Gundy. "So nothing's really changed as far as that goes."

Struggling to find their stroke, the Magic finished 2-for-23 from three-point range and only came alive in the second half. Brandon Bass finished with 11 points, while Jameer Nelson was just 3-of-12 for six points in the loss.

"We recognize that they are a team loaded with three-point shooters. So we try to pay attention to those areas that allow them to get the three-point shot," said Hawks coach Larry Drew. "One of them is [double-teaming] Dwight down low, which we have decided not to do. The other is we try to make a conscious effort to get back in transition and get bodies at the three-point line."

Crawford has been a spark plug for the Hawks, scoring at least 23 points in each of the four games in the series so far.

Howard is doing his part, leading the NBA in playoff scoring with 32.2 points per game and shooting 66 percent from the floor but his teammates have come up small. The Magic are averaging just 90.3 points in the series and their top three outside scoring threats, Nelson, Turkoglu and J.J. Redick are all shooting under 35 percent.

Turkoglu has been especially bad. The Turkish star finished 0-for-6 from long range on Sunday and is just 3-for-23 in the series.

Orlando swingman Jason Richardson and Hawks center Zaza Pachulia are both expected back in the lineup on Tuesday after being suspended for Game 4 after an altercation late in Game 3.

This year's series is a stark contrast from last season when Atlanta and the Magic met in the East semifinals. Orlando swept that one and 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 that 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.

Game 6 in the set, if necessary, will be back in Atlanta on Thursday.