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Hawks visit Bulls for crucial Game 5

May 10, 2011 - 2:56 PM (Sports Network) - Top-seeded Chicago will try to rebound in the pivotal Game 5 of its Eastern Conference semifinals set with the underdog Atlanta Hawks at the United Center.

The series shifts back to the Windy City where the Bulls were a dominant 36-5 at the Madhouse on Madison in the regular season and 3-0 against the Indiana Pacers in the first round before Atlanta solved them in Game 1 of this set. Chicago bounced back to take Game 2 before splitting a pair of contests in the Peach State, setting up tonight's crucial matchup.

"We can't wait to play," Bulls star Derrick Rose said at practice Monday. "All of us are mad about the effort we put in the last game. We know it wasn't good enough. Now we're playing back in our building. The atmosphere is going to be unbelievable."

Chicago had every chance to seize control of the set in Game 4 at Philips Arena on Sunday but faltered down the stretch.

Josh Smith nearly posted a triple-double in that one while Joe Johnson and Al Horford both eclipsed the 20-point plateau, as the Hawks evened the series with a 100-88 victory.

A game that featured 17 lead changes and 16 ties turned on its head in the final 4:04, when Atlanta scored 16 of the game's final 20 points en route to ending the Hawks' nine-game home losing streak in the second round, dating back to a May 13, 1996 victory against Orlando.

Smith, despite a home crowd that often booed him when settling for the jumper, scored 11 of his 23 points in the fourth quarter and added 16 rebounds and eight assists for the Hawks, who got 24 points from Johnson and 20 from Horford.

"I just stayed aggressive. I saw some cracks in the defense where I had opportunities," said Smith. "I did a good job of not settling, and when I'm able to do that for my team it helps us out extremely well."

"When he plays the way he plays tonight, we're pretty good," Hawks coach Larry Drew added when talking about Smith "He has a unique ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor. When he plays energized basketball, he's really good. And tonight he was that."

Jeff Teague and Jamal Crawford both scored 12 points for the Hawks, who shot 65 percent from the field in the fourth quarter and 49 percent overall.

Rose had 34 points and 10 assists, but shot just 12-of-32 from the field in the loss. Carlos Boozer, who has been struggling with a turf toe injury, ended with 18 points while Luol Deng totaled 13 points and seven rebounds for Chicago, which got 11 rebounds from Joakim Noah.

"Put this game on me," Rose said. "I had two turnovers at the end. [Now] it's a series."

Rose had exploded for a career-high 44 points in Game 3's 99-82 Bulls' rout, but the league MVP had no answer down the stretch on Sunday. He hopes things are different tonight.

"If anything, all of us are anxious right now because we know we can do so much better," Rose said. "We just have to jump on them from the beginning and see how they play then."

The Bulls won two of three from Atlanta in the regular season. All three games took place over a three-week span in March with the Hawks lone win by three points at Philips Arena. Conversely, the Bulls two wins (one at home and one in Dixie) were by 18 and 33 points.

The teams have met four times previously in the postseason dating back to 1966-67 when the Hawks called St. Louis home. Each club has taken two series, the Hawks in '66-67 and '69-70 and the Bulls in '92-93 and '96-97.

Game 6 of the set will be back in Atlanta on Thursday.