Smith, Teague lead Hawks past Bulls

ATLANTA (AP):

There's a tape that Josh Smith's coach wants him to see.

It shows the Atlanta Hawks forward attacking the basket. And defending. And rebounding. And finding the open man. About the only thing it doesn't feature is Smith parking himself on the outside, putting up jumpers beyond his range.

"I've been telling him from day one: just because the shot is open doesn't mean that's the shot you take," Hawks coach Larry Drew said.

Smith is frequently criticised by Atlanta fans for his inconsistent play. He heard nothing but cheers on Sunday night, coming up with a huge game that helped the Hawks even the Eastern Conference semi-final against top-seeded Chicago at two games apiece.

Largely ignoring the long jumpers that aren't his forte, Smith had 23 points, 16 rebounds, eight assists, two blocks and a steal in Atlanta's 100-88 win over the Bulls.

"We're always trying to stay in his ear, but obviously when he's going to the basket and making it easy for himself, we just try to keep encouraging him," teammate Joe Johnson said. "He was All-Star calibre. When he's playing like that, it's almost impossible for a team to beat us."

Smith will have to keep it up for the Hawks to have a chance to knock off the Bulls. Game Five is tonight in Chicago.

"I'm going to bring the tape in and bring him into the office. And he knows," Drew said. "He has the ability to impact the game on both ends of the floor. When he's flying around making plays, he's pretty good."

losing streak

The Hawks snapped a nine-game home-losing streak in the second round, their misery dating to a May 13, 1996 win against Orlando.

Jeff Teague also played a big role in stopping the skid.

Driving toward the hoop with Kyle Korver draped all over him, Teague flipped up a shot as he was falling down. It banked in, giving the Hawks a safe lead, 94-84, with 1:26 remaining. The second-year player bounced off the court with a big smile, bumping his teammates on the way to the bench.

Someone held up a sign, "M-V-Teague".

The actual MVP scored 34 points. But Derrick Rose needed 32 shots to do it, and he wasn't nearly as effective as he was in scoring a career-best 44 points in Game Three, leading the Bulls to a 99-82 rout that restored Chicago's home-court advantage.

"It was a tough game but no excuses," Rose said. "Put this game on me. Two turnovers at the end of the game."

Smith said he's not worried about those who boo him in his own hometown, who feel he's never quite lived up to his enormous potential, even though he's still just 25 years old.

"There are people who don't understand the game, who don't know the game. That doesn't faze me," he said. "My teammates matter more than anybody else. They believe in me. They have confidence in my game. When I was in my rut, they told me to stay positive, to stay in the game, just do what I'd been doing all season long. I stayed with it and had the game I had tonight."