<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'>Magic numbers and playoff-clinching celebrations will have to wait for another night. Right now, the Hawks have to concentrate on just trying to win every time they hit the floor. hey held their concentration just long enough to turn back the lowly New York Knicks 116-104 at Madison Square Garden on Friday night, blowing a 21-point lead in the process. "We can't afford to do stuff like that, but we're such an inexperienced team, you get a lead like that, our guys want to play a lot of one-on-one instead of continuing to do what we did to get the lead," said Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson, who led the Hawks with 34 points and six assists. "You've got to be able to step on a team's neck and put them away. And we haven't shown that ability all year, to be able to put a team away after we get a huge lead early." With their chief competition for that playoff spot, Indiana, rolling to a crucial 85-76 road win in Philadelphia on Friday night, the Hawks have absolutely no room for error, not with a shaky two-game lead over the Pacers for that eighth and final Eastern Conference playoff spot. Meanwhile, the Hawks (37-42) were busy surviving the Knicks. Instead of stretching their lead to say 31 points, the Hawks toyed with the Knicks long enough late in the third quarter and early in the fourth to allow the Knicks to shoot their way back into the game. They got as close as 95-91 inside of five minutes to play but could never climb all the way back, despite the Hawks' anything-goes attitude on defense. onclude the regular season Wednesday night in Miami.</div> Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hawks might have a though one against Boston, if they lose and Indy beats Charlotte than they're only a .5 game out, so we're not safe just yet.
That's what scares me. If the Hawks don't make the playoffs, it's a huge blow for them. I mean their site is already selling tickets and the city is getting fired up. I'm sure though, everyone in the locker room knows they aren't safe.
