SPORTSTICKER NATIONAL BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION EASTERN CONFERENCE TEAM REPORTS FOR MONDAY, MAY 24 The Hawks are on the verge of elimination after Sunday's 90-78 loss to the New York Knicks. They trail the Eastern Conference semifinal series 3-0 and no team has ever won a best-of-seven series after losing the first three games. ... Atlanta has not reached the conference finals since the advent of conferences in 1970. It is the only pre-existing team to fail to get that far. ... C Dikembe Mutombo limited Patrick Ewing to 2-of-12 shooting but was done in by Chris Dudley, who had 14 points and 12 rebounds. "I was very shocked the way he played," Mutombo said. "Some of the guys you play against, you just don't concentrate on. And then he comes out and gives them a game like that." ... G Steve Smith scored 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting in the first half but was scoreless in the second half, missing all 10 shots. ... F Chris Crawford, who scored 26 points in Game One, was 0-of 9 from the field. * INDIANA PACERS -------------- The Pacers advanced to the Eastern Conference finals for the second straight year with an 89-86 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday, completing a four-game sweep. Since the playoffs went to 16 teams in 1984, Indiana is the fourth team and first since the 1993 Chicago Bulls to sweep the first two rounds. ... For the second straight game, all five starters scored in double figures. ... For the fourth straight game, the Pacers raced to an early double-digit lead, then survived a rally by the Sixers. ... Indiana has won 22 of its last 25 meetings with Philadelphia and is 9-2 against former coach Larry Brown over the last two seasons. ... Game One of the conference finals will be no earlier than Sunday at Market Square Arena, starting while the Indianapolis 500 is under way. * NEW YORK KNICKS --------------- The Knicks took a commanding 3-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal series with Sunday's 90-78 victory over the Atlanta Hawks. New York is one win away from returning to the conference finals for the first time since 1994. ... C Chris Dudley had one of the best games of his career with 14 points and 12 rebounds. Dudley picked up the slack for C Patrick Ewing, who shot just 2-of-12. ... Gs Allan Houston and Latrell Sprewell continued to hurt the Hawks. After scoring 17 points apiece, Houston is averaging 17.7 points per game in the series and Sprewell 26.3 points off the bench. ... The Knicks are trying to become the first eighth seed to reach the conference finals since the playoffs went to 16 teams in 1984. ... In the series, New York's bench has outscored Atlanta's, 130-76. "They are all making sacrifices to come off the bench," coach Jeff Van Gundy said. "They have all started in this league before and I appreciate the sacrifice that they are making. Everybody wants to start and play but to win in this league you have to have a quality bench." * PHILADELPHIA 76ERS ------------------ A successful season for the 76ers came to an end Sunday with an 89-86 loss to the Indiana Pacers in Game Four of the Eastern Conference finals. Philadelphia's first trip to the postseason in eight years was tempered by the first sweep in a best-of-seven series in franchise history. ... C Matt Geiger bounced back from his zero-rebound performance in Game Three with 23 points and 13 rebounds. Geiger scored 23 points in both his first and last game of the postseason. ... G Allen Iverson scored 25 points but shot just 11-of-28 from the field. He shot just 44-of-115 in the series and had high praise afterward for the Pacers. "If I could be beat or swept by any team I would rather be swept by that team," he said. "They showed a lot of poise. Their sportsmanship was great. Those guys didn't act real cocky after the victory, any of the victories, or during any of the games. They didn't throw anything in our face and showed a lot of class." ... Philadelphia has lost 22 of its 25 meetings with Indiana. ... F Theo Ratliff sat out with a left calf strain.  