Dallas Mavericks All-Star Dirk Nowitzki and Vogel have been honored by the Pro Basketball Writers Association for their success on the court and cooperation with fans and media, according to the Associated Press.

Frank Vogel (AP Photo)

Nowitzki was presented with the Magic Johnson Award, beating out five other finalists.

Vogel was one of five finalists in his category for the award, named for former Houston Rockets coach Rudy Tomjanovich.

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Also, the public relations staff of the Golden State Warriors received the Brian McIntyre Award for the second time. It joined the Pacers crew as the only two-time winners of the award, which is named for the longtime NBA PR official and recognizes the staff that best exemplifies the standards of professionalism and excellence.

Vogel is under fire because the Pacers collapses late in the season. And with Thursday's 98-85 loss to the Atlanta Hawks, they are down 2-1 in their first-round playoff series.

Before the game, Pacers GM Kevin Pritchard wrote via Twitter that Vogel's job is safe. Before that, reports circulated that Vogel was "coaching for his job."

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Vogel led the Pacers to a 56-26 record and the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Hawks just sneaked into the postseason, so losing this series would be more than an embarrassment for Vogel and the team.

Writing in the Indianapolis Star, Bob Kravitz lashed Vogel after a game in which high-paid center Roy Hibbert was notably incompetent. Kravitz called for Vogel's head if Hibbert starts Saturday's Game 4.

Vogel is wise not to tip his hand or go off on Hibbert in the media. Kravitz quotes him in post-game comments as saying:

If Pacers brass, including legendary Larry Bird, have confidence in Vogel, it will take more than tweets to ease the pressure on their coach.

“We’re not going to quit on him. We’re going to keep trying to figure it out.''

Hibbert is having an especially rough time, scoring 18 points in the first three games on 7-of-25 shooting. But he is far from the only Pacers player struggling. Paul George was held to 12 points on 3-of-11 shooting on Thursday. He was 0-of-2 from the field in 13 minutes and couldn't muster a first-half point. George Hill made 1-of-11 from the field.