Hawks find their groove in finishing off Nets in first round (Yahoo Sports)

[ASFN Admin]

The Atlanta Hawks may never duplicate the way they played in January, during the best month in NBA history. The 60-game winners and runaway No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference weren't sharp when the playoffs started, mostly because they were so good during the regular season that they lost their edge once everything was clinched. Being tied after four games of their first-round series brought out the best in the Hawks, and as they showed in delivering a devastating third-quarter knockout, their best was better than anyone else in the Eastern Conference this season. Paul Millsap had 25 points, nine rebounds and six assists, and the Hawks finally finished off the Brooklyn Nets in six games, advancing to the East semifinals with a 111-87 victory Friday night.

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