ORLANDO---They’ve won twice in this building.
They’ve won six of the last seven games between the two teams.
They’ve built double-digit leads in all four games of this series.
They hold a commanding 3-games-to-1 lead.
And yet, the Hawks are once again underdogs tonight as they prepare to close out the Orlando Magic in their first round, Eastern Conference series.
True enough, the fourth game is always the hardest to win, especially on the road. Only the Boston Celtics have been able to do it so far in this year’s NBA Playoffs.
Here’s hoping the Hawks can match the crowd’s intensity and the anticipated desperation from the Magic.
The Hawks are on the verge of doing something that has never been done in Atlanta’s NBA history.
During the regular season, the Hawks won eight fewer games than the Magic (52-44). Only once in a best of seven series, have the Hawks prevailed over a team in the playoffs with more regular season wins. It was the 1957-58 St. Louis Hawks, and it came over the Boston Celtics in the 1958 NBA Finals.
Twice in Atlanta history, the Hawks have done it: in a best of three over Houston in 1979 and the most recent case, 1996 over Indiana in an opening round best-of-five.
After the humiliation that the Hawks suffered at the expense of the Magic last season, payback in their brand new building would be sweet indeed.
See you tonight on SportSouth. Our coverage begins with Hawks Live! at 7 pm.