Marvin Williams

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff Josh Smith is officially out for the Atlanta Hawks tonight, according to coach Larry Drew. Marvin Williams will take Smith's place in the starting lineup. Smith suffered a strained tendon in his left knee in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the series on Tuesday.

Al Horford is back in the starting lineup for the Atlanta Hawks as they try to avoid elimination in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics. Horford missed most of the regular season and the first three games of the playoffs after undergoing pectoral surgery. He made a surprising return in Game 4, coming off the bench for 12 points and five rebounds in a 22-point loss. With the Celtics leading 3-1, Atlanta made a couple of changes for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff We'll find out a lot about the Hawks tonight, though I'm sure what interests you is learning more about the Celtics. The Celtics beat the Knicks in four games during last year's playoffs, a sign that they can close the door when they need to. Two playoffs ago, the Celtics lost potential close-out games against the Heat and Magic before winning those two series. The Celtics had a 3-2 lead on the Lakers before dropping the final two games of the 2010 NBA Finals.

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff We'll find out a lot about the Hawks tonight, though I'm sure what interests you is learning more about the Celtics. The Celtics beat the Knicks in four games during last year's playoffs, a sign that they can close the door when they need to. Two playoffs ago, the Celtics lost potential close-out games against the Heat and Magic before winning those two series. The Celtics had a 3-2 lead on the Lakers before dropping the final two games of the 2010 NBA Finals.

The Atlanta Hawks went to overtime for a second straight night, pulling out a 102-96 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Friday behind 23 points and 13 rebounds from Josh Smith. The Hawks lost in triple-overtime to the Miami Heat the night before, but made sure there wouldn't be multiple extra periods needed by scoring the first eight points, with early 3-pointers by Jeff Teague and Joe Johnson. Marvin Williams added 15 points and nine rebounds, and Al Horford scored 15 points for the Hawks (5-3)

Josh Smith had 27 points and nine rebounds, leading the Atlanta Hawks to their third straight victory, 101-96 over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. Smith scored 13 points in the first quarter, 11 in the third, and fell three points shy of his season high. Jannero Pargo had 16 points, while Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia each scored 12 for the Hawks. David West scored a season-high 24 points for the Pacers, who have lost two straight. Danny Granger had 19 points and eight rebounds, and George Hill scored 15 points off the bench for Indiana.

Al Horford is back in the starting lineup for the Atlanta Hawks as they try to avoid elimination in their first-round series against the Boston Celtics. Horford missed most of the regular season and the first three games of the playoffs after undergoing pectoral surgery. He made a surprising return in Game 4, coming off the bench for 12 points and five rebounds in a 22-point loss. With the Celtics leading 3-1, Atlanta made a couple of changes for Game 5 on Tuesday night.

ATLANTA - With the Hawks already missing injured big men Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia, the team eagerly (and fearfully) awaited word Wednesday on the prognosis for power forward Josh Smith's left knee, injured in Game 2. Officially, Smith's MRI revealed a strained tendon in his left knee and he is day to day, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Smith has patellar tendinitis with inflammation in the area, making him doubtful for...

Josh Smith scored a season-high 26 points and the Atlanta Hawks shot nearly 54 percent from the field in beating the New Jersey Nets for the third time this season, 106-101 on Monday night. Joe Johnson added 22, Jeff Teague had 20 and Al Horford had 14 points and nine rebounds as the Hawks led for all but a few seconds in winning their third straight game overall. Anthony Morrow had 20 points and rookie MarShon Brooks 19 as the Nets (2-8) remained winless in four games at home.

Josh Smith spent most of the fourth quarter cheering on his teammates from the bench. He was on the court, though, for the biggest play of the game. After sitting for all but 44 seconds of the final period because of foul trouble, Smith soared through the lane to drop in a missed shot with 0.7 seconds remaining and the Hawks won their seventh in a row, beating the Houston Rockets, 105-103, last night in Atlanta to maintain the NBA’s best record at 11-2. Marvin Williams scored a season-high 29 points, but it was Smith who came through at the end for the Hawks.

By Gary Dzen, Boston.com Staff Josh Smith is officially out for the Atlanta Hawks tonight, according to coach Larry Drew. Marvin Williams will take Smith's place in the starting lineup. Smith suffered a strained tendon in his left knee in the fourth quarter of Game 2 of the series on Tuesday.

ATLANTA - With the Hawks already missing injured big men Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia, the team eagerly (and fearfully) awaited word Wednesday on the prognosis for power forward Josh Smith's left knee, injured in Game 2. Officially, Smith's MRI revealed a strained tendon in his left knee and he is day to day, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Smith has patellar tendinitis with inflammation in the area, making him doubtful for...

ATLANTA - With the Hawks already missing injured big men Al Horford and Zaza Pachulia, the team eagerly (and fearfully) awaited word Wednesday on the prognosis for power forward Josh Smith's left knee, injured in Game 2. Officially, Smith's MRI revealed a strained tendon in his left knee and he is day to day, but the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Smith has patellar tendinitis with inflammation in the area, making him doubtful for...

Joe Johnson scored 28 points, including a wild 3-pointer in the final minute, and the Atlanta Hawks held on for a 109-102 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers on Tuesday night, moving a step closer to wrapping up home-court in the first round of the playoffs. Blake Griffin scored a season-high 36 points, while Chris Paul added 34 in a back-and-forth game in which neither team led by double figures until the Hawks went on a 15-2 run at the end of the third quarter, sparked by Jeff Teague and Josh Smith.

Josh Smith had 27 points and nine rebounds, leading the Atlanta Hawks to their third straight victory, 101-96 over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night. Smith scored 13 points in the first quarter, 11 in the third, and fell three points shy of his season high. Jannero Pargo had 16 points, while Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia each scored 12 for the Hawks. David West scored a season-high 24 points for the Pacers, who have lost two straight. Danny Granger had 19 points and eight rebounds, and George Hill scored 15 points off the bench for Indiana.

Jeff Teague tied a career high with 24 points despite playing on a sore left ankle and the Atlanta Hawks beat the New Orleans Hornets 94-72 on Sunday night. Willie Green added 16 points and Marvin Williams 14 for Atlanta, which won for the fourth time in five games and handed the struggling Hornets their most lopsided loss of the season. The Hawks broke the game open with a 23-4 run during the last half of the third quarter, while New Orleans was in the midst of missing 12 straight shots.

Josh Smith scored 30 points, Joe Johnson added 23 and the Atlanta Hawks won their first game without All-Star center Al Horford, routing the Charlotte Bobcats 111-81 on Thursday night. The Hawks learned earlier in the day that Horford, a leader on and off the court, will miss at least three months after tearing the pectoral muscle in his left shoulder going for a rebound the previous night at Indiana. Knowing they'll be expected to take on an even larger load with Horford sidelined, Smith and Johnson came through big time against the hapless Bobcats, who lost their fifth in a row and...

Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat were far from perfect offensively. Fortunately for them, the Atlanta Hawks were worse. Much, much worse. The NBA's leading scorer, Wade finished with 35 points and the Heat held the Hawks without a field goal for nearly 13 1/2 minutes during one first-half stretch, beating Atlanta, 95-79, last night in Miami. Atlanta set a franchise-futility record with its 27-point first half. Still, the Hawks got within 7 points early in the final quarter before a quick 11-3 burst fueled by Wade and Mario Chalmers sealed it for the Heat.

When Al Horford tumbled to the court, his hopes of playing again this season all but snuffed out, everyone figured he'd take the Atlanta Hawks down with him. Well, look who's in first place. The Hawks have won four straight since their All-Star center tore his left pectoral muscle, an injury that required surgery and will keep him out for most if not the entire rest of the season. A talented but enigmatic team known for buckling under pressure, Atlanta has shown surprising grit and resolve in the wake of Horford's devastating injury.

Josh Smith scored 30 points, Joe Johnson added 23 and the Atlanta Hawks won their first game without All-Star center Al Horford, routing the Charlotte Bobcats 111-81 on Thursday night. The Hawks learned earlier in the day that Horford, a leader on and off the court, will miss at least three months after tearing the pectoral muscle in his left shoulder going for a rebound the previous night at Indiana. Knowing they'll be expected to take on an even larger load with Horford sidelined, Smith and Johnson came through big time against the hapless Bobcats,...