Hawks percentage points out of playoff spot

ATLANTA — The Hawks’ hold on a playoff spot is gone. All gone.

If the Hawks are to make their seventh straight postseason appearance they will have to earn it over the final eight games of the regular season. They find themselves in the predicament following a 105-92 loss to the Bulls Wednesday night at Philips Arena.

The Hawks (32-42, .432) fell .002 percentage points behind the Knicks (33-43, .434) for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Knicks, who only have six games remaining, drubbed the Nets 110-81 Wednesday at home. The Hawks do control their own playoff fate with two extra games and one fewer loss.

“It’s disheartening,” Elton Brand said. “We’ve been fighting all season long and we are in the playoff and as high as third place. For it to come down to the wire and not step up to the plate it’s definitely disheartening.”

The Hawks were at one point third in the conference before their current slide of 21 losses in the past 28 games. The latest loss also means the Hawks cannot finish above .500.

“It’s tough,” DeMarre Carroll said of the mood in the Hawks locker room. “We still control our own destiny. We are just making it more interesting.”

Atlanta returns to the court tonight when the Cavs — who pulled to within two games of the final playoff spot with a win over the Magic Wednesday — come to town, while New York hosts the Wizards tonight. The Hawks play five of their final eight games at home, but their closing stretch also includes Eastern Conference top dogs Indiana and Miami.

The Hawks made it easier on the Bulls on Wednesday by committing 16 turnovers, many unforced. Lou Williams had five turnovers and Jeff Teague and Kyle Korver each had four. They miscues, many unforced, led to 21 points for the Bulls.

“I think we had a lot of unforced turnovers,” Williams said. “I had five turnovers myself, which is uncharacteristic of how I play. I don’t really make a lot of high-risk plays. I think on two or three of them I just handed them the ball. I just had a lot to do with us not taking care of the basketball.”

The Bulls broke open a close game and took the lead in the second quarter. They would not trail the rest of the game. They used a 17-5 run between the third and fourth quarters to pull ahead when the Hawks had closed to within two points after trailing by as many as nine. They pushed their lead to a game-high 14 points in the final period.

Paul Millsap had a double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds. Teague added 21 points and Korver had 12 points on four 3-pointers.

The Bulls (43-32) have won three straight and five of their past six games. D.J. Augustin scored a game-high 23 points and Jimmy Butler and Kirk Hinrich added 17 points each as the Bulls placed six players in double-figures. The Bulls swept the season series, 4-0, in winning their sixth straight game against the Hawks.

“Disappointed, of course, after the loss but we still feel like we have a chance,” Millsap said. “We still have a lot more games left. Try to tough it out and see what happens.”