The Hawks can look back to last year's playoffs in their search for inspiration.
Atlanta was blown out in its first two games of its opening-round series against Boston, and just about everyone predicted the eventual champion Celtics would win in a sweep.
Instead, the Hawks won all three on their home court, forcing an improbable seventh game in Boston. OK, so they were routed in the decisive contest, but Atlanta would surely take a winner-take-all game in Cleveland if it was offered.
"It's a tough task, but anything is possible," Atlanta forward Josh Smith said. "If we step up, we can make a series out of this."
Pachulia was more realistic when someone brought up the Celtics-Hawks series.
"It kind of reminds me of last year," he said. "But this is different, because we didn't have all the injuries last year. Three guys are injured. That's kind of tough, especially when they are guys who started all year."
Woodson spent the day focusing on defense. The Cavaliers shot 50 percent from the field and averaged 102 points in the first two games, led by James at 30.5.
"They have a great player and a great supporting cast, but we're not playing defense nowhere near as good as we did during the season and during the Miami series," the Atlanta coach said, referring to the opening round. "There were too many gaps, too many holes. We tried to simplify things today. We have been good at protecting the paint. That's something they're doing right now, but we're not. We gave up something like 20 layups in Game 2. And 102 points a game? That's not going to cut it."
The Cavaliers' main concern is Delonte West, who got poked in the right eye in Game 2. He didn't practice before the team left for Atlanta, but coach Mike Brown expects him to start Saturday.
There was a lingering buzz in Cleveland about James' step-back, 36-foot jumper at the halftime horn to give the Cavaliers a 24-point lead.
"I still don't know how you can shoot a jump shot from that far out," Brown said. "That's amazing to me. And not only a jump shot, but a step-back jump shot, which is even harder.
"My son plays NBA Live," the coach added, "and that's the only time I've seen that happen."
