I think it is safe to say that the Atlanta Hawks are for real.  They have a relatively good mix of youth and veterans; the three years or so it has taken for the Hawks to gel into a playoff-contending team are finally beginning to bear fruit.  In Friday’s game against the Indiana Pacers at Philips Arena, the evidence was out there for all to see as Josh Smith and Joe Johnson combined for 54 points as Atlanta held off Indiana 122-118 and gain the #4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round of the NBA Eastern Conference playoffs.

The Pacers held a 7-point lead midway through the third quarter, but a pair of free throws by Johnson made it 76-74 Atlanta with 4:04 remaining in the period; Mike Bibby drained a 3-pointer with 4:24 left in the game to  to boost the Hawks’ lead to 113-101; Indiana’s Jarrett Jack hit a trey with 21 ticks left on the game clock to make it 121-118 , but Tito Horford hit one of 2 free throws to ice the game for the Hawks.

Atlanta was led by Smith with 30 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals and 2 blocks while Johnson added 24 (including five 3-pointers) with 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals; Horford chipped in 22 with 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a block while Bibby and Flip Murray scored 15 each – with Bibby making 3 treys, grabbing 4 rebounds, dishing out 9 assists along with a steal while Murray grabbed 3 boards and dished out 2 assists.

Danny Granger led all Indiana scorers with 35 points (including four 3-pointers), 4 rebounds, 3 steals and a block while Troy Murphy added 21 (including three treys) with 10 rebounds and 4 assists; Jack pitched in 17 (including three treys) with 4 rebounds, 7 assists and a steal but committed 5 turnovers while Roy Hibbert poured in 16 with 8 rebounds and 2 assists.  Atlanta (46-34) plays again on Tuesday when they host the Miami Heat while Indiana (34-45) returns home to host the Detroit Pistons on Saturday.