Not exactly what they had in mind.

The Hawks turned a fast start into a lethargic performance to spoil homecoming from a moderately successful road trip Wednesday. Anyone with a fairly good memory will recall that the Hawks came home from last February's marathon and lost six in a row.

This time they were punished 98-81 by the Seattle SuperSonics.

Three Denver Nuggets made their home debuts Sunday night at the Pepsi Center and experienced what the rest of the Nuggets have too often this season -- a close loss with yet another discombobulated ending for this struggling franchise.
The subject of inefficiency in the final minutes came up again at a perfect time for interim coach Mike Evans. This time he had a tailor-made excuse in a locker room with so many new faces.

Denver needed a three-pointer to tie the Atlanta Hawks in the waning moments, but got a fall-away jumper from the baseline instead from new point guard Tim Hardaway.

Atlanta made its free throws and won only its eighth road game

Sounds the trumpets and sends the clowns home, the Hawks are finally returning to Philips Arena after a grueling six game Western swing, ending in victory in Denver and a 3-3 split for the outing.

Jeff Denberg of the AJC breaks down the game and what went right out West for the Hawks...

According to Jeff Denberg of the AJC, in a crackling good game the Hawks got 32 points, eight assists from Jason Terry and 25 points, 16 rebounds from Shareef Abdur-Rahim, but it wasn't enough as Seattle put the Hawks away 99-96 in the closing moments.

Terry's 3-pointer with 13.1 seconds remaining left the Hawks a point behind. The Sonics got two at the line, and it was Hawks ball, down three, 12.2 left. Abdur-Rahim tried to tie it quickly from the corner and missed, and it was over.

When: 7 tonight.
Where: KeyArena.

Records: Sonics 28-26, Hawks 19-34.

Radio: KJR (950 AM).

P SONICS Ht. Ppg. R/A
F Rashard Lewis 6-10 17.0 7.2R
F V. Radmanovic  6-10 6.0 3.5R
C Jerome James  7-1 4.0 3.1R
G Brent Barry 6-6 13.7 5.5R
G Gary Payton 6-4 22.3 9.1A
P HAWKS Ht. Ppg. R/A
F S. Abdur-Rahim  6-9 21.1 9.4R
F Ira Newble  6-7 7.0 5.1R
C Nazr Mohammed  6-10 10.4 8.5R
G DerMarr Johnson  6-9 7.3 2.9R
G Jason Terry  6-2 18.7 4.8A

Notes: Former Sonic Emanual Davis is out with a broken left wrist, suffered Jan. 12 against the Celtics. Davis, who is out for the season, signed with the Hawks during the summer for a minimum contract after Seattle offered him the same deal. ... Hawks guard Jason Terry, formerly of Seattle's Franklin High, is seventh in the NBA in steals.

Injuries: Sonics ? F Vin Baker (three dislocated toes, left foot) is out. C Calvin Booth (right ankle) is on the injured list. Hawks ? F Chris Crawford (left knee surgery), G Emanual Davis (broken left wrist) and C Theo Ratliff (right hip sprain) are on the injured list.

According to the AJC, There was no suspense here Thursday night.

After their worst offensive half of the season, 32 points, the Hawks packed their gear and headed up the road to Seattle, where they get another chance tonight. They had no chance against Portland, falling to the Blazers 94-79 in a game that wasn't as nearly as close as the final score indicated.

Lethargy had overtaken the Kings as they entered the fourth quarter Tuesday night, and a jump-start of energy was badly needed.

Enter Bobby Jackson, who dropped two three-pointers as part of a 19-4 run that sparked the Kings to a 99-79 victory over the troublesome Atlanta Hawks before a sellout crowd at Arco Arena.

The victory gave the Kings their 40th victory of the season against 13 losses and brought their NBA-best home record to 28-2.

The story has it, one of the reasons the Vancouver Grizzlies struggled in British Columbia, especially later on, was the inability of point guard Mike Bibby and small forward Shareef Abdur-Rahim to get along.

That story has been communicated across many lines, but Abdur-Rahim and Bibby consistently have refuted its accuracy.

Jeff Denberg of the AJC reports that the Hawks' brief winning streak, which had been like a refreshing breath of spring in the dead of winter, was undone Tuesday.

Sacramento, the hottest team in the league, absorbed a late third-quarter challenge and then put the Hawks away, 99-79, stopping Atlanta's three-game winning streak.

As Jeffrey Denberg of the AJC reports, you can forget the nonsense of a Nazr Mohammed for Travis Best deal.

The Hawks DO need a center and not a PG, in case anyone at ESPN has noticed.  They are unlikely to make any deal of consequence, unless you count a Bowdler for a future second rounder important.