ATLANTA — Zaza Pachulia spends most of his time as an obscure backup center for the Atlanta Hawks, playing a few minutes here, a few minutes there. He's rugged but hardly graceful. He's a banger who handles the dirty work, letting others claim the glory.
But in the playoffs? He's fearless. He's a leader. He's invaluable.
Two years running, the 6-foot-11 native of Georgia — the country — has taken a lead role for the team that plays in the state of Georgia.
A postseason ago, Pachulia fired up Atlanta by going forehead-to-forehead with Boston All-Star Kevin Garnett, showing his underdog team had no intention of backing down to the eventual champion Celtics in a series that surprisingly went the full seven games.
On Monday, Pachulia may have saved this season for the Hawks with his gritty performance in Game 4 against the Miami Heat. Getting down and dirty — and sporting a black eye for extra effect — he scored 12 points and grabbed 18 rebounds in a game the Hawks had to have, an 81-71 victory that sent the series back to Atlanta tied at two games apiece.
"I don't care how Dwyane Wade shot or how Miami played or how we played, we don't win that game without Zaza. Period," said Atlanta forward Marvin Williams, who's missed the last two contests with an ailing wrist and is questionable for Game 5 Wednesday night. "He was phenomenal. What he did for our team was huge."
In a series of blowouts — all four games have been decided by at least 10 points — Pachulia could play a huge role for the Hawks, especially if Williams remains sidelined and puts more strain on an already thin bench.
Coach Mike Woodson went with essentially a seven-man rotation in Game 4, and Pachulia was on the court for the crucial minutes instead of starting center Al Horford.
That was an easy call. Horford struggled through a 1-for-5 shooting night. Pachulia shot better (5 of 8), played harassing defense and seemed to grab every loose ball in the 305 area code. All were keys to the Hawks' victory, which was the first road playoff win for the team since 1997 and its first postseason win ever with so few points being scored by its top scorer (Mike Bibby with 15).
"When Zaza walked on the bus," Woodson said, "I told him I was very, very proud of the way he played. In playoff basketball, someone has got to do the dirty work."
Pachulia has not only played the part in the playoffs, he looks it. He took a shot to the right eye during Atlanta's 29-point loss Saturday, and he still had an impressive shiner for Tuesday's practice.
"The level of basketball is higher," he said. "You can't play the same way. You should go higher and do more things."
The Heat knows it will have to match Pachulia's intensity to steal another win in Atlanta.
"We're a little disappointed. Angry," rookie Michael Beasley said. "We just didn't look like we wanted to win. They looked like they wanted it more than we did. We can't play like that, especially in the playoffs, especially against a good team like that. They've got so many weapons. They can come at you so many ways."
The Heat also has some injury woes. Wade is bothered by back spasms but said he'll definitely play in Game 5. Jamario Moon isn't as fortunate; Miami said the backup forward is done for the season after being diagnosed with a sports hernia that needs surgery.
MAGIC'S LEE OUT: Orlando guard Courtney Lee left Game 5 against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday night after taking a blow to the head. He was taken to the hospital as a precaution.
Lee took an elbow to his head from teammate Dwight Howard early in the first period. Howard soared to block a shot by Willie Green on the play and came down on his teammate. Lee was on the floor for a few minutes before going to the locker room with a towel to his head.
Orlando won Game 5 91-78. The Magic said the starting shooting guard's status for Game 6 is questionable.
Lee, a rookie from Western Kentucky, averaged 15.7 points through the first four games.
ORLANDO A HOT SPOT: NBA commissioner David Stern says the Orlando Magic will host an All-Star game soon in their new arena.
Stern said before Game 5 of the Sixers-Magic series Tuesday that "without question, there is an All-Star game in Orlando's future." Stern could not give a year the city would host but said he hopes it would be announced before the 2010 All-Star game at the new Dallas Cowboys stadium.
Stern toured the construction site of the Orlando Events Center earlier in the day. The Magic's new arena is expected to open for the 2010-11 season.
Stern also said he does not see the All-Star game moving out of the country anytime soon because there are too many NBA franchises trying to host the game.