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Hawks Vs. Bulls: Josh Smith Doesn't Like Carlos Boozer Very Much

Things were a brewing in the third quarter of the Atlanta Hawks' Game 5 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night as the Hawks clawed back into it in a very physical frame.

Josh Smith went for the monster jam to cut the Chicago lead to 62-61 with 4:07 left and hung on the rim a tad too long perhaps in part to make sure that he didn't land on a Bulls player that fell down in the paint. When he came down, Carlos Boozer was there to shove an elbow in J-Smoove's mug. 

Smith followed with a shove before the two were quickly separated. Here's a video of the exchange.

Atlanta's young highlight-providing forward was still miffed at Boozer after the game, telling the AJC's Jeff Schultz the following after the game:

"I dunked the basketball, I go to turn and he just cleared me with an elbow to the jaw," Smith said. "Nobody is going to do that to me, I don’t care who you are. I’m a man first."

Those sound like fighting words.

Chicago took a 3-2 lead in the series, setting up what should be a brutal elimination game on Thursday night at the Highlight Factory. Let's just say it will be interesting to see what happens if the game gets out of hand.

For more on the series, visit SB Nation's NBA hubPeachtree HoopsBlog-a-Bull, and SB Nation Chicago.

Photographs by coka_koehler used in background montage under Creative Commons. Thank you.