NBA’s best team all of a sudden finds themselves in a dogfight with 37-45 Hawks.

SCOTT JACOBS

New colors. New look. New spot in the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

And now? New sense of confidence. New sense of we can do this. And if the Atlanta Hawks want to say no one believed in us, but ourselves, then by all means let them. Because the truth is: no one believed in them, but themselves.

This is not cliche, this is merely incredible. The Atlanta Hawks, perennial NBA door-mats for nearly the past decade, snuck into the playoffs by default. They were supposed to be an appetizer en route to a Celtics-Pistons Eastern Conference super final. But look at that. After Atlanta’s spirited win on Monday, not only are the Hawks tied with the mighty Boston Celtics, but so is Philadelphia with the mighty Detroit Pistons.

O dear, all hell has broken loose. Not only did no one give the Hawks any chance to win this series (except their coach… I remember reading his quote about how the Hawks could shock the world), no one thought they could win a game. Literally.

I certainly didn’t. I knw every media outlet out there on the internet didn’t. Truth be told, I’d be surprised if Hawks fans didn’t.

But this Hawks team has come to play. After getting pounded in Boston, they came back to Atlanta and not only played well, they played great. They played unafraid and determined.

The fear that swept through them in their pair of duds at the Bank North Garden, was replaced in Atlanta with an unseen jolt of excitement, and a belief, that, wow, we can play with these guys.

Joe Johnson and Josh Smith played the games of their lives, and Atlanta went 28-32 from the foul line. A young team, built from the ground up, with the exception of the sensational Johnson, who made every shot you could ask and more, are tied with Boston two games to two. It’s a three game series now, and the Hawks have a chance to do the utmost unthinkable.

You thought Dallas losing to Golden State was epic? If the Hawks, who finished EIGHT games below .500 win this series, this may not only go down as the greatest upset in NBA history, but as the greatest upset in the history of human civilization.

Of course that means Atlanta has to win at least one game in Beantown, something they have yet to show they can do. But at least now they know they can beat Boston. They can hang with the Three Amigos, the Boston Three Party, whatever you want to name Boston’s awesome trifecta.

But on this night, it was a duo, Smith and Johnson who propelled Atlanta to the depths of the unknown.

There’s three games left in this scintillating series. The Hawks actually have a chance.

The Atlanta Hawks ACTUALLY have a chance.

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