Josh Smith would probably be the first to tell you that he didn't have a great game on Friday against the Rockets. But he was there at the end when it mattered most, and hit the game-winner with 0.7 seconds left to power the Hawks to their 11th win, tops in the league at this early point in the NBA season.
Smith finished with a pretty solid line of nine points, eight rebounds, four blocks, and three assists, but was limited by foul trouble to just 24 minutes of action. In fact, he had played just 30 seconds of the fourth quarter, before being inserted with 34 seconds remaining, and his team clinging to a five-point lead.
After the exceptionally gritty Rockets came from 10 points down with under two minutes remaining to tie it at 103 with five seconds left, Smith was there to clean up Mike Bibby's missed jumper for the win. Video after the jump.
The Atlanta Hawks are considered one of the NBA's rising teams, as evidenced by consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in 10 years. The Hawks, however, were easily swept in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who spent four games exposing Atlanta's numerous flaws and weaknesses. The Hawks are approaching a critical time for their franchise, with Mike Bibby a free agent and third-year forward and former lottery pick Marvin Williams seemingly without a role.
Hawks legend Dominique Wilkins, the team's vice president of basketball, said the Hawks need two key components to challenge, Boston, Orlando and Cleveland for Eastern Conference supremacy.
Cherry Picking recaps the previous day's NBA playoff action.
Progress looks like this. Atlanta, long a laughingstock of the NBA, made the playoffs last season. This year, the Hawks advanced to the second round. Progress, right?
Well, from my seat it doesn't look like a whole lot of progress. More than offering new hope for tomorrow, the struggle against Miami followed by obliteration at the hands of Cleveland has pointed out Atlanta's specific deficiencies. The shortcomings are intrinsic to this roster, the problems part-and-parcel with the strengths. I fail to see how the Hawks can get much better from here.
Facing an 0-3 series deficit, the Hawks knew they had to come out swinging against the Cavaliers on Monday night, and to their credit, they actually did ... for a quarter or so.
Eventually the Cavs caught up, and even though this was by far the most competitive game of the series, the Cavs still cruised to an 84-74 victory, the eighth time in eight playoff games the Cavs won by double digits.
NBA Playoff 4-5 matchups are often the best of the first round. Usually the two teams are within a few wins of each other. They're not a level of David and Goliath, and both teams are usually mortal enough to make it interesting. Such is the case with tonight's matchup of the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat. As such, we're rocking the live blog action again tonight. Join us after the end of Orlando-Philadelphia for Hawks-Heat. Joe Johnson. Dwyane Wade. Make this happen.
FanHouse's NBA Guide gives you a daily look at all the games that matter ... and some that don't.
HEADLINER Atlanta at L.A. Lakers, 10:30PM ET
Mike Bibby returns to the scene of the crime. Few players have had their career so inextricably linked to another team like Bibby's NBA life has been with the Lakers. At his peak, he sparred with Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant on the world's greatest stage. When his chariot turned into a pumpkin, the Lakers tried to pry him from Sacramento for the low, low price of Kwame Brown. Quite a roller coaster, that.
PHOENIX -- The competition was there for Jason Kapono. Or maybe Rashard Lewis. Even veteran Mike Bibby might come out of the field the champion. The one thing that was certain was the second-year man from Miami wasn't taking this title, no way, no how.
Elie Seckbach, the AP-recognized Embedded Correspondent, brings his exclusive video reporting to FanHouse. Check back regularly for more videos.
PHOENIX -- One of the main events at All-Star weekend is the Three-Point Shoot-Out. Sharp-shooter Jason Kapono isn't one of the league's most recognizable faces, but his spotlight is this contest, which he's won two years in a row. In this video we talk to him about going for a third title, and you'll be surprised who in Phoenix Jason is worried about. We also hear from Kobe Bryant and Mike Bibby.
All-Star weekend is less than two weeks away, so the press releases are coming fast and furious as to who's going to be participating in all of the events. We told you about H.O.R.S.E. on Tuesday, and today, we bring you the field for the 2009 Foot Locker Three-Point Shootout.
Jason Kapono will defend his title and attempt to win the event for the third straight year, and he'll be facing a group of players that collectively have a total of zero three (and counting) prior appearances in the competition.
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. Doing Lines lets you know which one tops the list.
Mike Bibby isn't exactly known for his dominating scoring performances. But with Marvin Williams and Al Horford sidelined with injuries, he cranked it up a notch to help his team get a win in Chicago.
Bibby had 31 points on 12-of-21 shooting, and hit five of his 10 three-point attempts. He scored nine of his points in the final five minutes, and also finished with six assists and five steals. A 94-93 Bulls lead with five minutes to play turned into a Hawks win, largely because of Bibby.
Josh Smith would probably be the first to tell you that he didn't have a great game on Friday against the Rockets. But he was there at the end when it mattered most, and hit the game-winner with 0.7 seconds left to power the Hawks to their 11th win, tops in the league at this early point in the NBA season.
The Atlanta Hawks are considered one of the NBA's rising teams, as evidenced by consecutive playoff appearances for the first time in 10 years. The Hawks, however, were easily swept in the Eastern Conference semifinals by the Cleveland Cavaliers, who spent four games exposing Atlanta's numerous flaws and weaknesses. The Hawks are approaching a critical time for their franchise, with 
Facing an 0-3 series deficit, the Hawks knew they had to come out swinging against the Cavaliers on Monday night, and to their credit, they actually did ... for a quarter or so. 
NBA Playoff 4-5 matchups are often the best of the first round. Usually the two teams are within a few wins of each other. They're not a level of David and Goliath, and both teams are usually mortal enough to make it interesting. Such is the case with tonight's matchup of the Atlanta Hawks and the Miami Heat. As such, we're rocking the live blog action again tonight. Join us after the end of Orlando-Philadelphia for Hawks-Heat. 
FanHouse's 
Elie Seckbach, the 
All-Star weekend is less than two weeks away, so the press releases are coming fast and furious as to who's going to be participating in all of the events. We told you about 
Every night there are some stupendous, silly, stupid, or downright outlandish individual lines from around the lig. 
