Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 93, Heat 89
Hawks put up a fight against Wade's Heat. (Hector Gabino / el Nuevo Herald)
- Miami–This wasn’t the soft team L.D. described after the Hawks barely bothered to play defense against the Rockets and Kings.
- “We showed up tonight,” Drew said.
- The Hawks won at Miami for the first time since Dec. 12, 2008. It was their fifth straight road W and they know have 14 on the season, second only to the Heat’s 15.
- The Hawks improved to 4-6 in road games against teams with winning records.
- “Guys knew that this was going to be one of those games that sometimes you get measured on,” Jamal said. “It’s a good barometer. They are not fully healthy, but we aren’t either. We just had to kind of go with it.”
- The Hawks went into the Heat’s building and beat them at their rugged style. They won despite losing Al in the third quarter, facing a 29-14 deficit in free throws, Le Bron’s 34 points and 27 from D-Wade.
- They did it by continuing to grind when the Heat made one final push to force overtime.
- “You have to be able to play different styles, especially against the top teams,” Jamal said. “To win, we had to gut it out.”
- Every guy who made a mistake going down the stretch–J.J.’s bad turnover, Mo’s bad foul, Smoove’s bad shots, Jamal’s forced runners–did something later to win the game.
- “It showed a lot of heart, determination, growth and maturity,” J.J. said. “It was a hard-fought game. Their rotation on defense was phenomenal tonight. We just made the extra pass and were getting open shots.”
- The Hawks didn’t make many of them. The shot selection was suspect at times. They had lots of careless turnovers, especially in transition.
- Atlanta’s team defense, however, was spirited, physical and exceptional.
- “That is how you have to play a team like this, because they are going to force you to play like that,” Drew said. “If you don’t they are going to run you out of the building.”
- No Bosh for a team without much offensive depth to begin with certainly helped the Hawks’ cause but they made things difficult for Miami from start to finish. Miami shot a season-low 36 percent from the field.
- “I’ve been saying since I got here, when we help each other and everybody is on a string we are one of the top teams in the league,” Bibby said. “We did that tonight. We helped, and we rotated out and everybody was moving. When we are that active, we are real good.”
- Smoove, arms waving and feet moving, stalked James to all corners of the court. He helped make James a jump shooter and it paid off.
- “I thought he did a real good job against him,” Drew said. “He’s out there flapping around, but I do think his length bothers people. And he has the ability to erase a mistake when he gets beat off the dribble when someone goes to the basket.”
- At one point of the third quarter, Josh looked like he could barely stand while chasing LeBron through several screens on the perimeter. He stuck with it and LeBron eventually missed a long jumper.
- “It’s so hard to be able to guard so many re-screens,” Josh said. “You find your legs getting tired. They beat you up on the screens. But it’s all mental for me and I just fought through it. I wanted to suck it up and be able to stand up for my team.”
- Josh’s thunderous dunk over Joel Anthony late in regulation gave the Hawks a jolt and quieted the crowd after it looked like they would fade like last time they were here.
- “I kind of looked to the right and still saw him coming,” Smoove said. “I knew I had to finish hard because he’s a pretty good shot-blocker.”
- “We needed something to motivate and energize us,” L.D. said. “That gave us a little life. Everything we got tonight we really had to earn. We needed something to spark us and Josh came up with the big play.”
- It was clear early that J.J. was locked in for his duel with D-Wade. He shadowed the Heat’s All-Star around the court, using his size and strength to keep him away from the basket.
- “I think Joe got us going with that,” Drew said. “Watching him those first few possessions of the game against Wade, I thought he played him with his speed and played him with a physicality and started banging around in there.”
- Joe hurt the Hawks with too much iso play in the second quarter. He also threw the ball away with Atlanta up 76-75. But then he tied it on a classic Joe move: Hesitate, dart into the lane then score on a floater.
- “I knew there was a lot riding on me,” he said. “I just wanted to come up big for the squad and somehow get it into overtime and then it’s our will against theirs.”
- The Heat was disorganized after tying it at 84-84 and Joe smartly set up Jamal for a corner 3. Jamal made it, one of his six baskets after halftime. “The last two games I wasn’t as aggressive as I would have liked,” he said. “Tonight I got back on track.”
- The Hawks needed someone other than Jamal to produce off the bench and Mo delivered. After standing in the corner and missing a wide open 3 in regulation, then compounded that error by fouling James 40 feet from the basket, Mo scored the first five points of overtime for Atlanta.
- LeBron, back after missing two games with an ankle injury, got lured into taking long jumpers. The Hawks didn’t allow him many of his devastating runs at the basket.
- “LeBron started to make some shots there toward the end, but that was a game plan we decided to stay with,” Drew said. “If we were going to give up anything, let’s give up a contested jump shot as opposed to him getting to the basket. We executed that going down the stretch in the fourth quarter and in overtime we did a great job with that.”
- Al didn’t return after suffering the sprained ankle. He wasn’t in the locker room when I got in there. “I don’t know how bad it is or if he’s going to be out,” Drew said.
- It was kind of surreal to see JC2 suddenly checking into this game late in regulation. He missed a 3-point try.
MC
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164 comments Add your comment
KevinM
January 19th, 2011
9:17 am
The Vols and Georgia? That was a decent no call…them ‘em play, the ball never touched the goal, so Williams was wise enough to reach for it, unlike Barnes, who stayed flatfooted not knowing where the ball was.
Big win for the Vols and that tightens up the SEC East that much more. No one is running away with it this year. My Cats have a challenge on their hands this year with the improved talent in the SEC. Bama played very well last night for the most part.
How would sharpshooter Brandon Knight look on the Hawks’ roster? He doesn’t have it figured out yet, but he is going to get it together under Cal.
Double Zero Eight
January 19th, 2011
9:17 am
Spelled “apparently” incorrectly in previous post.
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
9:18 am
On Josh shooting:
If Joe goes 4 for 20 no-one says stop shooting.
Josh has improved his shot so much that he does not need to stop,
but he does need to “-THINK-” ! Not during his shot but before he even catches the ball. Time, spot on floor, situation, etc.. Six inches inside the arc = bad shot.
One other note…Josh has returned to launching rather than his
newfound jumper from this summer. He needs to watch some videeo and
whomever is the shot Coach needs to have a refresher course. Kinda
like a hitter – he’s in a slump and it’s fixable.
*[if it were Chipper he would call in Big Larry]
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
9:31 am
KevinM
At no time can you let a team win a game with a no call.
That is a foul at any point of the game so why a no call?
Who cares if the player is flat footed he had inside pos.
Egregious and more so for you to try and explain it away!
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
9:48 am
On Bibby:
I’m becoming more and more of a Bibby fan.
Please hear me out.
As I mentioned yesterday;
he’s 2nd on our team ((+/-).
He is to us what Derek Fisher is to the Lakers.
Think about Josh’s dunk last eve:
It was the spark that most likely put us over the hump.
Who delivered the assist pass? Bibby of course.
And it was no “run o’ the mill” easy pass.
Difficult angle, bounce pass, delivered beautifully.
At the beginning of the year, I couldn’t imagine that I would be
typing these words. I was ready to trade MB ASAP. However, I’m
coming around. And I’ve always admired D.Fisher. Bibby is in better
shape is playing better defense (he plays defense with his head/brain)
and because he is in better shape [legs] his shot is superb.
All we need is a tough hard nosed defender @ pg to spell him.
*[these thoughts pertain to this yr as we are a title contender NOW ]
Carlos
January 19th, 2011
9:56 am
drmaryb – for someone who loves logic so much, how can you say that a big part of why Joel Anthony had 16 rebounds is because Al got injured, when in fact Anthony had 5 boards in the first alone (meaning he was on pace for 20 after 1 quarter of play) and 9 total all before Horford’s injury?
Trojan
January 19th, 2011
10:01 am
I like Bibby also. He had a lot to offer a team. He is a deadly shooter. He is a steadying influence. But he is limited. Therefore, he should be a role player. He is bad a defense and bad at pushing the ball and penetrating. He simply is not very athletic in a sport that has the best athletes in the world.
Kerry
January 19th, 2011
10:05 am
Hawks played a great game against Miami, Joe was awesome, Playing like an allstar, Jamal came through for us when we needed him, Josh doing what he do best, I am proud of them, I hope they can keep it up! (We beat the heat!!!
O'Brien
January 19th, 2011
10:08 am
Ra’mon, dmb,
Imagine how different things might have been if the Celtics had gotten the #1 pick and Tim Duncan. I think Rick Pitino was looking forward to coaching him in Boston.
KevinM,
The numbers (10-3 on second nights of back to backs) suggest that when the Hawks are a little tired, they play with more focus. Maybe thats why LD doesnt mind playing them so many minutes in the first game of a back to back.
Win or lose, one of the things I give LD credit for. There is an offensive system in place, that if executed correctly, should lead to a decent shot for the Hawks (although playing a good defensive team makes it a more difficult shot).
SteveW
January 19th, 2011
10:08 am
Najeh – Co-sign about back to backs with this team. They seem to play better with less rest.
Rip Hamilton has been benched the last 4 games. If LD won’t play Teague, I wish Sund and the capologists could get the numbers to work for a Teague/Rip trade. But I don’t see a way with the cap/trade rules it can happen.
We can’t even do Duhon for Teague with the rules… We could do Teague/Mo’ for Duhon. But I’m not a big Duhon fan.
Great Win!!!! Go Hawks!!! Play Jeff Teague!!!
Remember, Jordan came in before Teague a few games ago in the 4th. I wondered then if JC2 had not leapfrogged Teague in LD’s mind. Last night showed he might have.
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
10:09 am
Trojan
I agree – best athletes in the world.
I also say Basketball is the -Ultmate Team- sport.
Therefore players like Derek Fisher et al are priceless!
SteveW
January 19th, 2011
10:09 am
O’Brien – Imagine if Len Bias hadn’t have died…
Rufus1
January 19th, 2011
10:10 am
“Is Portland the Knee Cemetery?”….LMBO
SteveW
January 19th, 2011
10:11 am
Grandad – In a poll in the Olympics among the athletes a couple of Olympics ago, they asked them to rate the best athletes. I thought it would be gymnasts or Decathletes. Olympians said NBA players were the best athletes in the world, combining strength and stamina. It was reported they run 5-6 miles a night, sprint, and are strong.
Ken Strickland
January 19th, 2011
10:14 am
If a person is geared to finding something to complain about, I’m certain last nights gm will provide something to focus on. But for everyone else, this was the kind of gm this team has always been capable of playing. It just proves that our TEAM DEF issues have less to do with personnel or ability, and more to do with a lack of proper attitude and committment.
GREAT GAME AND GREAT WIN HAWKS!!!!!!!!
Now let’s see if we can avoid approaching our upcoming gm with the same lack of energy and committment to playing DEF that we demonstrated against the Clippers. Against the Clippers we were looking ahead to Miami, and now we might be too focused on what we accomplished last night in Miami to take our next opponent seriously.
Sautee
January 19th, 2011
10:14 am
Carlos,
Your explanation is no more logical.Yes, Anthony had 5 early boards. But Horford had 9 rebounds in only 20 minutes. If Horford and Anthony had the same number of rebounds BEFORE Horford’s injury, then it would be “logical” to think they would likely split the remaining rebounds for the game, or end up with roughly the same.
Ken Strickland
January 19th, 2011
10:23 am
I missed the 1st half, but if Bibby held his own on DEF in the 1st half like I saw him do in the 2nd, I take my hat off to him. It also appears that MEvans is starting to regain his confidence and get his legs under him.
I’ll bet all of the JSmith distractors can’t say he can’t play individual man to man DEF after the way his worked against LeBrat.
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
10:24 am
SteveW
HS players run 3+ miles each game.
ILL-Logical
January 19th, 2011
10:32 am
Being somewhat giddy with last night’s win, I thought what if:
1.LD moved JC2 to the point and developed him into a Chauncy Billups type of PG because of his size and scoring ability. All he would need to be devloped would be leadership skills.
2.Jeff Teague was traded for Jason Thompson. the big JT is 24,6′11″,weighs 250 lbs and does play 5-was at the Kings game- and much better than the “faux center” of the hawks. What the Hawks need is a 5 who can and will protect the rim, can run the floor ,board-especially at the offensive end- and not fumble the ball when passed to wide open under the basket. The kid can do this; plus he is still under his rookie K so he is cheap(music to management’s ears)
3. Have a consistent line up that is not based on protecting ASA’s All Star status. If Josh is going to be the strting 3 then have prayer meeting with him about shot selection that includes a clearly defined offensive role that keeps his head in the game. This where Jason thompson comes in: there is another player who can protect the rim besides Josh,therefore he doesn’t have to guard his man and the rim as is the case presently.
Just some random thoughts induced my pot game euphoria.
ILL-Logical
January 19th, 2011
10:33 am
er,post game euphoria
Geemack
January 19th, 2011
10:35 am
How in the world do the Hawks commit only 4 more fouls than the Heat (22 to 18)? Yet the Heat shoots 15 more free throws than the Hawks? In the famous words of Ed Lover….C’mon Son!
Great game Hawks.
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
10:36 am
Carlos
Logic would also suggest that since J.Anthony had 8 off rebs
against a small line-up for much of the 2nd half + OT then
he would have -MOST- likely -NOT- [logically speaking] gotten
most of those 8 offensive boards had Big Al been in the game!
logically speaking, of course.
Ra'mon
January 19th, 2011
10:36 am
Does anyone think Detroit would take Josh Powell and Etan for B. Wallace (who’s been injured of late)? Wallace has another year left on his contract at $2 mil. While Powell and Etan’s deals expire this off season. Having Wallace on the bench with Collins and Zaza could be huge.
Daniel
January 19th, 2011
10:50 am
maryb- I hope you are right about Al. Marvin’s back has long been an issue, and as you know that “big butt” is also an exagerated lordotic curve in his spine. I have long been suspect that this back thing was going to really hamper his career, still hope I am wrong.
Unfortunately, Marvin is much LESS trade-able than Jamal. JC has an expiring contract and is actually playing well, those are things teams want. Marvin is hurt, relegated to the bench and has a long contract, not an easy thing to move and get any value.
Rufus1
January 19th, 2011
10:58 am
Fact of the Day…
14-9 on the road…That is tied for 2nd in the entire NBA.
14-6 at home…
The Hawks are a balanced team that can win anywhere…If we are not elite, then we are very, very close.
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
11:01 am
ILL-Logical;
I hate to disagree with you but Thompson is a puss…..
err…’scuse me…this political corectness stuff…kitten.
JC2 is not a pg. However, he is maybe our best trade chip!!!
If not traded, look for more PT 2nd half of season.
Players who could help us win a championship * This yr * :::::
(1) Troy Murphy (stretches floor & rebounds)
(2) Kyle Lowry (tough, hard nosed defender @ pg)
(3) Nene Hilario (his last name tickles me) + (rugged center)
***** There are some others as well, these 3 make sense
and are supposedly available at some cost *****
(4,5,6,7) Julian Wright, L.Barbosa, J.Dorsey, Amir Johnson
Toronto going no-where ***** any one of these would fill a need!
ILL-Logical – respectfully speaking as always & euphoric as well.
Daniel
January 19th, 2011
11:03 am
Grandad- I agree with you about Bibby. I think he is playing much better than he gets credit for on here.
Ken Strickland- I don’t think Josh playing the 3 is that he is a “poor” perimeter defender, its just that when he get to play in the lane more on the defensive end he is DPOY calibre.
Josh has been decent all year wherever he has been asked to play.
Daniel
January 19th, 2011
11:07 am
Grandad of your names… L. Barbosa is the most interesting.
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
11:14 am
Daniel
We need to package Marv with one of the pups and wish him well.
Even if the return is .50 cents on the dollar.
Zaza is a fan favorite and mine as well but some teams are looking
for a Big, with the way Big Jase is playing package him also.
Let’s go for it – Mr Sund.
Do you have some nuggets or nougat?
*[nougat/definition - soft brittle candy sometimes containing fruit]
KevinM
January 19th, 2011
11:17 am
Grandad, one more comment on the UT/UGA game…..had Barnes shown some effort to go for the ball instead of pushing backwards, perhaps there would have been an OT. I have no issue with a smart play that Williams made, and Barnes isn’t getting the benefit of a bump when Williams is going for the ball. You take your chance at that point and Williams did his job.
OB, strange that the Hawks look so unenergized in front ends of a back to back instead of trying to expose the Kings’ weaknesses, which are many. They did get a good jump on the Heat last night, so they had a shot from the get-go. While good to see them hang on, we know Miami’s bumps and bruises didn’t help their cause. But that’s life in the NBA.
In a 7 game series, the Hawks have a lot of prove seeing the same lineup game after game. The desire for a 4th seed is gonna be a stretch for this team in the 2nd half.
And Pitino gambled and lost when he left Kentucky. He gave up on Chauncey as well. So much for the Pitino legacy in Boston.
Now games like last night will tell Sund that everything is fine as is….ticks me off too.
SteveW
January 19th, 2011
11:17 am
Grandad – Yea, HS’s don’t play as long of games, and it’s not s fast paced.
Great move by LD to intimidate LeBron! JC2 is the one who slammed on ‘Bron while at Xavier. It went viral all over the ‘Net. Good head game by LD!
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
11:18 am
Daniel
*package Zaza -NOT- Big Jason!!!!!
*RePeaT*
*package ZAZA ~NOT~ I say ~NoT~ {{{ BIG JASE }}} ! ! !
slimjr
January 19th, 2011
11:20 am
Marvina Williams=A GREAT WNBA MVP CANDIDATE!
JeJe
January 19th, 2011
11:21 am
Why exactly did Jordan Crawford play last night?
Josh Smith’s performance at the 3 shows he is capable of being our small forward
FIRE SUND
TRADE DUCK
Rev in Tampa
January 19th, 2011
11:22 am
With Month playing at a higher level lately, Marvin coming off the bench when Collins starts, and Jamal running the point, the Hawks have upgraded their depth significantly.
drmaryb, I was wondering why you were calling Evans “Month”, but now I know. Blackberry changes his first name to Month automatically. Furthermore, I can’t use Larry Drew’ initials since Blackberry automatically changes it to today’s date. The Hawks as currently constructed are not Blackberry friendly.
JeJe
January 19th, 2011
11:22 am
JUST TRADE TEAGUE ALREADY
TEAGUE FOR JASON THOMPSON
POWELL FOR JASON WILLIAMS OR DUHON
bfred
January 19th, 2011
11:23 am
Nothing to say anything about the Hawks that hasn’t been already, but on the UGA/UT game I haven’t heard anyone mention the no-calll goaltending by UT a couple of minutes before the no-call over the back. GA was screwed twice.
slimjr
January 19th, 2011
11:24 am
Marvina for Montel Ellis
Duck kick rocks
it was a terrible #2 Lottery Pick!
slimjr
January 19th, 2011
11:28 am
Sund must have pictures. This Buster has won nothing in 31 years as a GM!! Appears to operate in mediocrity..
Sund=Knight take a hike…
slimjr
January 19th, 2011
11:30 am
“The Hawks as currently constructed are not Blackberry friendly.’
LOL!
Ken Strickland
January 19th, 2011
11:31 am
GRANDAD-Your last post proves you’re nothing but a DIRTY OLD MAN, welcome to the club.
Players that don’t have good shot blocking skills usually try to develop their man to man DEF skills. Players with good shot blocking skills tend to rely on that skill, and tend not to work on developing their man on man DEF skills.
When near the basket, Smoove seems to rely on his shot blocking skills, but when he’s away from the basket, he demonstrates very good one on one DEF ability.
I’m also a big Bibby fan, just not as our starting or Primary PG. I just think we should incorporate JTeague into the mix so that we can get more combined overall production out of both players and the position. If used properly, we should be able to reduce Bibby’s mins and still get close to his current 10PPG and 4APG production.
Teagues numbers show he could approach Bibby’s current numbers with increased mins. Consider this: BIBBY/TEAGUE
MPG-30.4/11.7, PPG-10/4, APG-4/1.8, 3FG%-.476/.357, 2FG%-.422/.476, FT%-.65/.83, FTAPG-1.0/1.1.
When you consider that Bibby plays almost 18 more CONSISTENT MPG, and playS
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
11:32 am
SteveW
Yes, I know, I was just adding on.
About 20 yrs or so ago I saw a similar study about HS.
I was agreeing all the way!
Pound for pound Barkley was amazing @ his size.
Iverson…imagine if he were a soccer player?
Wilt in his day [ran the hurdles].
It goes on and on.
‘northcyde’ will know about Percy Howard collegiate B-ball player…
1st rookie to catch a TD pass in the SuperBowl “Let’s Go Peay” !
Sautee
January 19th, 2011
11:33 am
Ill-logical,
About this statement: “Have a consistent line up that is not based on protecting ASA’s All Star status.”
Why in the WORLD would LD try to “protect” Al’s All-Star status? And why would he even need to? Is this like one of T-S’s “conspiracy theories”?
Do you not think Al should be a starter? And if he starts, where would YOU play him, and why?
The idea that the Hawks have to (or would) juggle their lineup solely to help Horford’s All-Star status is surely one of the more bizarre ideas I’ve seen here, but perhaps you can explain.
slimjr
January 19th, 2011
11:36 am
Teague cant shoot the rock. No good as starting pg in this league. Heck thats why LD is giving him limited minutes because the bigs can’t cover for his lack of shooting ability….
slimjr
January 19th, 2011
11:38 am
Teague/Marvina/visa card/ Bahama trip on the Norwegian Pearl/Picks/ Cuban cigars for DWILL yesterday!!
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
11:39 am
Ken Strickland
Yessir!
Mary Ellen will confirm.
Dept. of Unintended irony
January 19th, 2011
11:40 am
“Marvina for Montel Ellis”
LOL, does Ellis have a really lame daytime TV show too?
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
11:40 am
Ken Strickland
By the way;
proud to be in any club you’re in.
Grandad
January 19th, 2011
11:45 am
ASA = AL
When did I miss that?
All-Star Al?
Ken Strickland
January 19th, 2011
11:48 am
Sorry about the error.
Bibby plays most of his mins with our starters. So when you compare the disparity in MPG played between the 2, and then notice that their production doesn’t come close to reflecting the disparity in their MPG.