The Charlotte Hornets were hoping to make a rare trip to the second round. For now, they'll have to settle for an ignominious spot in NBA playoff history.
After beating the Atlanta Hawks twice at home, the Hornets couldn't handle the defensive pressure of a desperate team, matching the lowest-scoring playoff game in NBA history in a 96-64 loss Tuesday night."We couldn't hit shots," David Wesley said, summing up the plight of the Hornets on a night they made just 34 percent from the field. "We had a lot of open looks, a lot of easy shots were we were hitting in Games 1 and 2. They just weren't falling tonight."
The Hawks had a little something to do with that. Down 2-0 in the best-of-5 series, they knew the best way to contend with a hot-shooting team was to turn up the defensive pressure. Charlotte hit 54 percent in the first two games.
"We played to our strength," said Steve Smith, one of six Hawks in double figures with 15 points. "Our strength is defense. We decided, `Let's go out there and play defense. If the offense isn't there, at least the defense will be there."'
Charlotte connected on 25-of-74 shots from the field and tied the record for fewest points set by Portland in a 1996 postseason game at Utah and equaled by Orlando against Miami last year.
The Hawks, primarily Tyrone Corbin, did a magnificent job shutting down Glen Rice, who averaged 29 points in the two victories at Charlotte. He had eight points in Game 3, hitting just 3-of-13 from the field.
The Hawks, who were led offensively by Mookie Blaylock with 16 points and seven assists, played with energy and emotion that was missing in their first two games. They posted the largest playoff victory since the franchise moved to Atlanta in 1968, easily beating a 23-point rout of Indiana in 1994.
Anthony Mason with 12 and Vlade Divac with 11 were the only Hornets to reach double figures.