2013 NBA Standings: Hawks in the middle of tightly bunched Eastern Conference

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Wednesday's win over the Philadelphia 76ers lifted the Hawks into fifth place in the tightly bunched Eastern Conference standings.

Wednesday's win over the Philadelphia 76ers lifted the Hawks into fifth place in the Eastern Conference Standings but things are still tightly bunched with only 4.5 games separating third place from seventh place.

Atlanta enters play on Thursday a half game behind the Brooklyn Nets whom they will face Saturday at Philips Arena. The Hawks lead Chicago by a half game after the Bulls lost their second straight on Wednesday. The Celtics are currently in seventh place but just one game behind the Hawks. So this weekend's games become much more important as the season kicks into the final stretch with the playoff scenarios changing almost daily.

Here is a look at the full Eastern Conference Standings entering play on Thursday:

Eastern Standings

	GP	W-L	PCT
Miami Heat	59	45-14	.763
New York Knicks	58	37-21	.638
Indiana Pacers	61	38-23	.623
Brooklyn Nets	61	35-26	.574
Atlanta Hawks	60	34-26	.567
Chicago Bulls	61	34-27	.557
Boston Celtics	60	33-27	.550
Milwaukee Bucks	59	30-29	.508
Toronto Raptors	62	24-38	.387
Philadelphia 76ers	60	23-37	.383
Detroit Pistons	63	23-40	.365
Cleveland Cavaliers	61	21-40	.344
Washington Wizards	59	19-40	.322
Orlando Magic	62	17-45	.274
Charlotte Bobcats	61	13-48	.213