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Greetings! As the regular season came to a close, it wasn’t exactly an uplifting end to the long, 82-game ride. Let’s take a quick look at what went down during the season’s final week.

Hawks vs. Raptors — Tuesday, April 16th — Loss (113-96)

The first indication that Atlanta was in trouble here came in the pre-game when Al Horford was declared “out” with an injury. Then, it became apparent on the court (in a hurry) that the Hawks weren’t particularly invested. No Hawks regular played more than 18 minutes in the game, and while Mike Scott and Ivan Johnson both posted double-doubles, that was about the only positive thing to say about this performance. The starters were disengaged (Josh Smith played 13 minutes, for example) and the bench couldn’t get any sustained offense going (2-13 FG from John Jenkins), which led the a sub-40% shooting night. When that was coupled with some outrageous perimeter shooting by the Raptors (Rudy Gay and DeMar DeRozan combined for 6-for-12 from three), things got out of hand. I would be more worried if Horford and the starters had played, but it was still a lackluster effort from the tip.

Hawks @ Knicks — Wednesday, April 17th — 8:00 PM ET

For all of the negatives above, this game basically is a throwaway. The Hawks played without their entire starting five for the entire game, as Horford, Smith, Korver, Teague, and Harris all sat out, and the Knicks took the court without Carmelo Anthony, JR Smith, Raymond Felton, and Tyson Chandler. The leading scorer in the game was Chris Copeland with 33 points, Earl Barron grabbed 18 rebounds for New York, and the Hawks shot 2-for-21 from three-point distance. If we wanted to grasp at straws, Mike Scott produced at a high rate yet again, scoring 23 points and grabbing 14 rebounds, and my man-love for him grows daily. Other than that? Nothing to see here.

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It’s a rough week for evaluation, so I’ll say this. I have no idea what the plan was here. I understand that the Hawks wanted to have the regulars rested and ready for the playoffs, but with a noticeably more difficult match-up with Indiana on the horizon, I would’ve gone full-tilt in order to set-up a more winnable first-round battle with Brooklyn. Alas, that did not happen, and it’s time to focus on the Pacers. Stay tuned.

Toronto Raptors’ high scorer DeMar DeRozan (10) shoots a three-point basket over Atlanta Hawks’ Kyle Korver in the first half of an NBA basketball game on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at Philips Arena in Atlanta. (AP Photo/David Tulis)

DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay put on a show as they combined for 52 points in Toronto’s 113-96 blowout victory in Atlanta Tuesday night, extending their winning-streak to four straight.

DeRozan dropped a game-high 30 points in 28 minutes and Gay added 22 points, five assists and four rebounds, as the Raptors avoided their second straight season sweep to the Hawks.

Toronto’s front court duo Jonas Valanciunas and Amir Johnson combined for 24 points, 16 rebounds and 9 blocks. Valanciunas had 13, 8 and 3 while Johnson almost had a triple-double with 11, 8 and 6.

John Lucas (11) was also in double-figures. Point guard Kyle Lowry chipped in with eight points and dished out 11 assists.

The Raptors made 66.7 percent of their shots in the first half and led 68-51 by the break. DeRozan had 19 points on 72.7 percent shooting at halftime and Gay had 17 on 70 percent.

The Hawks didn’t play their starters in the second half. They let the bench players get the mop up role in the last home game of the regular season.

Kyle Korver extended his streak to 73 straight games with a 3-pointer and finished with a team-high 13 points.

Rookie Mike Scott and Ivan Johnson both tallied double-doubles. Scott had 12 points and 12 rebounds while Johnson finished with 12 and 10. Shelvin Mack (11) was also in double-figures.

After the loss, Atlanta (44-37)  is now tied with Chicago in the standings but drops to sixth place since the Bulls own the tiebreaker over the Hawks, having won the season series 2-1.

Both teams finish the regular season on Wednesday, with the Hawks heading to New York to play the second-place Knicks, while the Bulls end it at home against the woeful (29-52) Wizards.

If Chicago wins, they get the #5 seed and will face fourth-place Brooklyn in the first round of the playoffs. Subsequently, Atlanta will get stuck with the #6 seed and play third-place Indiana.

The Hawks only get fifth place if they win and the Bulls lose.

Ron Turenne/NBA/Getty Images

Game Preview

The Atlanta Hawks go for the season sweep over the visiting Toronto Raptors tonight, while trying to stay ahead of the Chicago Bulls in the playoff race with just two games remaining.

A sweep might be tough, as the Hawks will be without Al Horford and DeShawn Stevenson. They are 2-4 without Horford this season. Johan Petro will fill-in.

Atlanta sits in fifth place, a half game ahead of sixth-place Chicago, and needs to win tonight against Toronto and Wednesday in New York in order to safely clinch the #5 seed. If the Hawks lose one-of-two, they need the Bulls to lose Wednesday’s game. If they drop both remaining games, they’ll slip to sixth and Chicago will get the #5 seed because they own the tiebreaker over Atlanta.

As for the Raptors, their playoff hopes are non-existent but that doesn’t mean they’ve given up on the season. Toronto is going into Atlanta with a three-game win streak, two of which were against Chicago in a back-to-back set, and the makings of a lethal duo in DeMar DeRozan and Rudy Gay.

In their most recent win, a 93-87 home victory over the playoff-bound Brooklyn Nets on Monday, DeRozan dropped a game-high 36 points and Gay chipped in with 26 and 10 rebounds. In the pair of wins against the Bulls, Gay averaged 21 points and DeRozan averaged 19.5 points.

The Hawks snapped a three-game skid last week and have now won their previous two in a row, averaging 116.5 points while shooting 52.3 percent.

Josh Smith has lit it up recently against the Raptors as he’s scoring 24.7 points ppg on 56.4 percent shooting while grabbing 11.3 rebounds in his last three home games in this series.

DeRozan has scored 23 in each of his last two trips to Atlanta and averaged 22.8 ppg  on 53.8 percent shooting over his last six overall.

Toronto has averaged 90 points in two losses to the Hawks this season. Atlanta is averaging 100 points while shooting 48.7 percent in those games.

A win would give the Hawks their second series sweep over the Raptors in the past three seasons.

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Quick Facts

Who?: Atlanta Hawks vs Toronto Raptors

What?: Series Finale (Game #81, Home Game #41)

Where?: Philips Arena (Atlanta, GA)

When?: Tuesday, April 16, 2013 – 8:00 PM (ET)

How?: TNT

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Projected Starting Lineups:

Atlanta Hawks: 

PG: Jeff Teague | SG: Devin Harris | SF: Kyle Korver | PF: Josh Smith | C: Johan Petro

Toronto Raptors:

PG: Kyle Lowry | SG: DeMar DeRrozan | SF: Rudy Gay | PF: Amir Johnson | C: Aaron Gray

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Injury/Inactive Players Report

Atlanta Hawks: Al Horford (shoulder), DeShawn Stevenson (cold), Zaza Pachulia (Achilles surgery) and Lou Williams (torn right ACL) are out.

Toronto Raptors: Jonas Valanciunas (neck) is day-to-day. Andrea Bargnani (right elbow sprain) is out.

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Current Records/Streak & Hot, Lukewarm, or Cold

Records: Atlanta Hawks (44-36) … Toronto Raptors (32-48)

Streaks: Atlanta Hawks –> OVERALL: Won 2 / HOME: Win 1 / ROAD: Won 1 … Toronto Raptors –> OVERALL: Won 3 / HOME: Won 3 / ROAD: Won 1

Home/Away Records: Hawks are (25-15) at home … Raptors are (12-28) away.

Atlanta Hawks: Lukewarm. Winners of two straight, Atlanta looks for it’s second straight season sweep over Toronto.

Toronto Raptors: Hot. Raptors stroll into Atlanta riding a three-game winning streak with Sunday’s win against Brooklyn and back-to-back wins against Chicago.

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Season/Past Season Series

Toronto visits Philips Arena for the second time in the third-and-final meeting with the Hawks. Atlanta sports a 2-0 record in the season series, posting a 93-92 home win on 1/30 and 107-88 road triumph on 3/27. Al Horford (22 points/10 rebounds) and Josh Smith (20 points/11 boards) recorded double-doubles in the first game, while DeMar DeRozan scored 23 points and Kyle Lowry (14 points/10 rebounds) had a double-double. Horford tallied 26 points and 12 boards in the second contest and Jeff Teague added 24 points and 13 assists. Jonas Valanciunas led the Raptors with 19 and Rudy Gay had 15 points and 12 rebounds. The Hawks have won three straight overall against the Raptors, including the last meeting at Philips Arena (1/30/13). Toronto’s last win in the series came on 4/15/12 in Atlanta (102-86). The Hawks lead the all-time series 39-27, including a 20-13 home mark.

LAST MEETING — HAWKS 108, RAPTORS 88 — AIR CANADA CENTRE (TORONTO) — 3/27/13

After falling behind 54-44 at the half, the Hawks erupted in final 24 minutes, outscoring Toronto 63-34 on the way to a 107-88 road victory. Atlanta evened things at 75 after three quarters and then won the fourth 32-13. Al Horford (26 points/12 rebounds) and Jeff Teague (24 points/13 assists) each had double-doubles, while Josh Smith added 19 points. Five Raptors hit double-figures in scoring led by Jonas Valanciunas with 19. Rudy Gay chipped in with 15 points and 12 boards. Atlanta shot .494 from the field for the game, hit 10-21 3FGs (.476) and 17-20 FTs (.850), and dished out 27 assists. Toronto made .449 from the field, making 4-17 from behind the arc (.235) and 14-20 FTs (.700). The Hawks also forced 20 Toronto turnovers, leading to 24 points, while committing just 11 miscues (zero in the fourth quarter).

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Common Threads

Raptors assistant coach Johnny Davis is a former Hawks player, assistant coach and once served as the club’s Community Relations Director. Hawks assistant Kenny Atkinson coached Landry Fields as an assistant with the Knicks from 2010-12. Johan Petro and Linas Kleiza were teammates with Denver for part of the 2008-09 season. Kyle Korver and John Lucas III teamed-up in Chicago (2010-12). Anthony Tolliver and Sebastian Telfair played together with Minnesota for part of the 2010-11 season. Dahntay Jones and Rudy Gay teamed together in Memphis in 2006-07.

Information was used from the Hawks and Raptors official gamenotes