Atlanta Hawks

The Atlanta Hawks is a National Basketball Association team, playing in the Southeast Division of the NBA Eastern Conference. The Atlanta, GA team plays their home games at Phillips Arena.

The Atlanta Hawks franchise has been around since 1946, when they were known as the Tri-Cities Blackhawks and were based in the three city area near the Mississippi River of Moline, IL, Rock Island, IL, and Davenport, IA and was one of the original 17 teams of the NBA. In 1951, the team moved to Milwaukee and the name was shortened to the "Hawks." They moved again in 1955 to St. Louis, MO. They remained in St. Louis until 1968 when they moved to Atlanta, GA.

The only NBA title in franchise history was won in the 1957-58 season when the team was in St. Louis. They have been Conference champions 4 times.

The first decade of the 21st century has not been kind to the Hawks. Their worst season was 2004-05 with a dismal 13 wins and 69 losses. In 2005, they won twice as many games ending the season with 26 and 56.http://www.nba.com/hawks/

The Hawks finished the 2009-10 season with 53 wins and 29 losses, 2nd in their division, and seeded 3rd in the Conference.http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Std_Div.html

Milwaukee Bucks

The Milwaukee Bucks play in the NBA Central Division in the Eastern Conference of the NBA and play their games at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee, WI.

The Milwaukee Bucks joined the NBA in 1968 and won their first championship three years later, the quickest in NBA history, with the help of NBA legend, Lew Alcindor, aka Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.http://www.nba.com/bucks/history/00400459.html

During their history of play, the Bucks have won one championship (1971), had 2 Conference titles, and 13 Division Titles.

The Bucks ended the 2009-10 season with 46 wins, and 36 losses, finished 2nd in the Central Division, and seeded 6th in theConference.

The seven game series between the Bucks and the Hawks opened on Sat., April 17, 2010 in Atlanta and ended on May 2, 2010 in Atlanta when they won the final game of the series 95-74.http://www.nba.com/bucks/

During the 2009-2010 regular season, the Bucks played the Hawks four times and split 2-2. The last meeting between the two was on April 12, 2010. The Atlanta Hawks won that game, Hawks 104, Bucks 96. With that win, and the Celtics loss to the the Bulls, the Hawks captured the 3 seed position in the playoff ranks.http://blogs.ajc.com/hawks/2010/04/12/hawks-squawks-hawks-104-bucks-96/?cxntfid=blogs_hawks

The Hawks and their main rival, the Cleveland Cavaliers met for Atlanta's final game of the season, with Atlanta topping them 99-83, snapping a nine-game losing streak.

There really isn't any long-standing rivalry between the Bucks and the Hawks. The main contention in these playoff games is to advance to the next round and hopefully, finishing with the championship.

The first and last time the Bucks played the Hawks in a playoff game was in 1989, and the Bucks surprised the Hawks and everyone else by winning the series 3 games to 2.http://www.journaltimes.com/sports/article_f64b239e-4913-11df-a702-001cc4c002e0.html

Game 1: Atlanta Hawks: 102 Milwaukee Bucks: 92 The Atlanta Hawks' first half was stellar. They were able to make the shots and blocks needed to take the team to a 62-40 halftime score. Milwaukee tried to get back in the game in the second half, but was unable to overcome the 20 point deficit. The Buck's Brandon Jennings, lead the team with 34 points. The absence of center, Andrew Bogut was sorely felt. The Hawks second half was less than what was expected following their first half play, but they never gave up the lead. Joe Johnson led the Hawks with 22 points, but this certainly was not a one-man show. The other Hawks recorded double digit numbers.

Game 2: Atlanta Hawks: 96 Milwaukee Bucks: 86 Josh Smith was top scorer for the Hawks with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Joe Johnson added 27 points to the win. Although this was not the complete blowout that the first game was, the Hawks continued their great team effort in overcoming the Bucks.

The high scorer for the Bucks was Ersan Ilyasova with 13 points and 15 rebounds. The Bucks made 37 of 90 shots, (41%). Championships are not won with these types of numbers. On their way back to Milwaukee, Bucks coach, Scott Skiles will have to stress to his team that they have to beat Atlanta without 7' Andrew Bogut, who is out due to an injury. The Bucks led briefly by 2 points in the 2nd quarter, but that was short-lived.http://espn.go.com/nba/recap/_/id/300420001

Game 3: Milwaukee Bucks: 107 Atlanta Hawks: 89

Whatever Coach Skiles said to the team on their way home to Milwaukee, it worked. The Bucks came out strong early in the game and did not let up. Six Milwaukee players had double figured stats for the game, with John Salmons topping the Bucks with 22 points.

Atlanta's Josh Smith was completely ineffectual in the game, scoring a total of 7 points with none at all in the 2nd half.

The capacity crowd at the Bradley Center was boisterous and encouraged the Buck intense play.http://www.jsonline.com/sports/bucks/92018789.html

Game 4: Milwaukee Bucks: 111, Atlanta Hawks: 104

The Bucks tied the best of seven series 2-2 with their win over the Hawks in Milwaukee. The Hawks defense could not find their niche allowing the Bucks' Brandon Jennings to score 23 points and Carlos Delfino to score on 6 out of 8 three-point attempts, ending the game with 22 total points.

The news was not all bad for Atlanta. Jared Crawford was awarded the NBA's Sixth Man Award. He averaged 18 points per game coming off the bench. He is the first Atlanta Hawk to receive the award.http://www.ajc.com/sports/atlanta-hawks/crawford-wins-nba-sixth-499384.html

Game 5: Milwaukee Bucks: 91, Atlanta Hawks: 87

The Bucks surprised the Hawks and their fans at Phillips Arena upon their return to Atlanta for the fifth game of the series. With 4 minutes left in the game, the Bucks were down by 9 points, but scored 14 unanswered points to take the lead and the game. Brandon Jennings led the Bucks in scoring with 25 points, and John Salmons scored 19.

Al Horford led the Hawks with 25 points and 11 rebounds, and Marvin Williams added 22 points. Joe Johnson was held to 13 points and fouled out in the 4th quarter. The Bucks were also able to limit Jamal Crawford to 11 points.

In the third period, Atlanta had a 13 point lead over the Bucks, but the Bucks fought back and won the game.

Game 6: Atlanta Hawks: 83, Milwaukee Bucks: 69 (Series tied, 3-3)

The Hawks were not ready to give up and they came out ready to play. Jamal Crawford gained consciousness and scored 24 points, returning to his award winning play. Joe Johnson contributed 22 points and Al Horford added 15 more. The Hawks went into half time with a 3 point score, but in the 3rd quarter took a 15 point lead with 19 unanswered points scored.

The Bucks high scorer was Carlos Delfino with 20. The Hawks held John Salmons to 8 points hitting 2 for 13. Brandon Jennings scored only 12 points on 4 for 15. The Bucks made a pitiful 3 of 17 shots in the 3rd quarter. Although the Bucks tried to rally in the 4th quarter, it was too little, too late.

Game 7: Atlanta Hawks: 95, Milwaukee Bucks: 74 (Atlanta wins the Quarterfinals)

The Hawks were definitely ready going into the deciding game of the series and the Bucks were not. The high scorer for the Bucks was Brandon Jennings with 15 points (out of 18 attempts). The Bucks were clearly intimidated by the Hawks, making about 1/3 of their shots, sailing air balls, and having shots blocked.

The Hawks were primed up and ready for the game at home. Jamal Crawford scored 22 points. Double digit points were scored by Al Holford, Mike Bibby and Josh Smith. The Hawks went out into the lead and at one point led by 24. The win sends Atlanta into the Eastern Conference semifinals against Orlando on Tuesday, May 4, 2010.http://www.bostonherald.com/sports/basketball/other_nba/view.bg?articleid=1251898&format=&page=2&listingType=NBA#articleFull