Atlanta Hawks: Heat 95, Hawks 89 (updated)
Vivlamore reporting.
How do the Hawks measure up against the Heat?
Very well it turns out.
The Hawks went toe-to-toe with the defending NBA champions in a back-and-forth, thoroughly entertaining contest Friday night at Philips Arena. In the end, LeBron James hit a jumper with 13.7 seconds remaining as the Heat won 95-89 over the Hawks.
Al Horford missed a contested shot alley-oop dunk attempt, after a timeout, and a jumper down the stretch for the Hawks. Ray Allen hit a pair of free throws to seal the win.
The Heat played without a key piece of their Big Three as Dywane Wade missed the game due to a cold.
“We don’t want any moral victories,” said Anthony Morrow, who came off the bench with 17 points. “We know what we need to get better at. We know the things we did well tonight. We will continue to work on the things we need to work on and execute down the stretch.”
The Heat opened the fourth quarter on a 10-2 run to take a nine-point lead, 82-73. The Hawks staged another comeback, something that is becoming a trademark early in the season. They went on a 14-3 run to regain the lead that was punctuated by two straight 3-pointers from Jeff Teague. The second, with 4:02 remaining, tied the game at 85-85 and sent the home crowd into a frenzy. After a defensive stop, Horford drove past Chris Bosh for a layup and gave the Hawks’ first lead since late in the third quarter.
Kyle Korver could have extended the lead. He missed a fast-break layup and after getting his rebound appeared to be pushed out of bounds. However, the Heat were awarded the ball.
“They called out of bounds on me,” Korver said. “I missed the layup first of all. I shouldn’t have been in that situation. I’ve got to finish that. There was a scramble. I was off balance. I thought I got pushed in the back but they felt otherwise.”
Allen put the Heat up by two, 91-89, on a short jump with 1:21 remaining. They took the lead into the final minute when Josh Smith missed two free throws with 1:05 left.
“Not an excuse,” Smith said about expending energy having to guard James for much of the game. “I have to be better offensively for this ball club. As a leader I have to be more efficient. I have to be better at the free-throw line. I apologized to all my teammates because that was just a poor effort offensively by me. I mean it is a tough task to give energy on both ends of the court but I have to be more efficient. And I will be more efficient.”
Smith finished with 13 points but was 6-for-19 from the field and 1-for-5 from the free-throw line. He added eight rebounds. Teague led the Hawks (2-2) with 20 points. Korver (11) and Horford (10) were the other double-digit scorers.
Bosh finished with a game-high 24 points for the Heat (5-1), who have won four straight and four overall against the Hawks. James added 19 points and 10 rebounds.
“It was a very hard-fought game,” Drew said. “It really was. I thought my guys came out and really competed at a very high level. We played good in spurts, and again we showed some resilience, particularly when we got down by nine points in the fourth quarter. …
“But this game is about making plays down the stretch and we didn’t come up with enough plays down the stretch. They did, and they came up with the win.”
The Heat took a one-point lead, 72-71, into the decisive final quarter. They outscored the Hawks 18-2 in points in the paint – an important stat for both teams coming into the game.
The Hawks took a 46-42 lead into intermission thanks to Morrow. He scored the first seven points of the second quarter for the Hawks. Morrow had 12 points, including two 3-pointers, in the first half off the bench.
Smith had nine first-half points before leaving with a few seconds remaining before halftime after taking a charge from James. He said he suffered a bruised knee and expected to be sore Saturday when the Hawks leave on a four-game west coast road trip.
“We fought back against a great Miami team,” Smith said. We’re going to be good. We’re going to be going to be good and I’m going to be better.”
- Chris Vivlamore
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210 comments Add your comment
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
12:12 pm
It seemed like a 6 minute stretch where we could not score the ball, yet Morrow was on the bench. SMH.
LeBron didn’t even score in the 4th until the every end
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
12:13 pm
Only guy I saw play like an AllStar last night for the Hawks was the point guard Jeff Teague..
Anybody else? Hmmmmm
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
12:13 pm
Agreed, SlimJr.
I read that Tim Donaghy book…Worth reading. I believe Grandad first mentioned it here.
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
12:17 pm
Thanks Grandmaster Je Je (GM) for that Ref’s name. I am going to check it out..
“Where’s there is smoke, there is usually fire”
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
12:20 pm
Grandad,
Were Smoove’s eyes wandering to the bench or to the crowd?
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
12:22 pm
Romnesia equation for the day:
[24-10=14], “If you take away his[Bosh] FT’s, he only scored 14 points”
Is this [Fan Club member] trying to level out the playing field for his [Guy]..Is he related to Tim Donaghy? LMAO
Ken Strickland
November 10th, 2012
12:28 pm
MIKE IS BACK-You might not like Josh at the 3, but he seems to become a more controlled player and plays near the paint much more than he does at the 4. Josh has trouble with stronger 4s. I recall one of our bloggers commenting on how Horford got punked by Bass. Well, if that was the case, couldn’t you say Josh got punked by Battier?
The problem is Josh hasn’t develop any alternative options when he can’t utilize his athleticism to do what he wants. His only options is to bail the DEF out by resorting to launching jumpers. Horford has used his BB IQ, quickness, and athleticism to back door his defender and score on several lobs to the basket. Josh has yet to do the same so far this season, although he’s done it in the past.
Several writers/observers have said Josh doesn’t deserve a max contract because when Josh loses his athleticism, he’ll basically be useless. They believe he’ll reach that point before being able to complete a long team max contract. This assessment could turn out to be as flawed as the opinion that he would be the most likely player to be a bust right after he was drafted.
There’s still time and plenty of room for Josh to take off and become a truely dominant PF. However, it’s going to require that he matures mentally and starts playing within the requirements of the system. He has to start doing what he NEEDS to do, rather than continuing to do what he WANTS to do. Despite all of this teams problems, I really love its spirit and never say die attitude, and Josh is a major contributor to all of this.
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
12:33 pm
‘Horford really needs to demand the ball more and to expand his offensive repertoire beyond this swivel pivot move”
Agreed Grandmaster Je Je ( GM). That 8-13 second jab step is pretty easy to defend even at the NBA level..
Combined the two do not have the fire power to take it to the ECF’s..Forget Championship Finals…
Danny is going to earn his keep…
DS
November 10th, 2012
12:39 pm
I’m not one of those “trade Smoove or Big Al” proponents, but I saw on a recent philly blog that someone mentioned Smoove for Thadeus Young and Hawes. I think they’d have to include at least 1 first round pick but that’s not a bad trade I think. What do you guys think?
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
12:40 pm
Josh took 10 more shots than Horford.
Perhaps it Larry allowed Ivan to take say 3 of those and downtown Morrow to take 4 more:
3+4=7 shots, if they made 3 of em: 2(4pts.) ,1(3pts.)= (7pts.)= A WIN!!!!!!!! By one…I’m just saying…
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
12:46 pm
Congrats to WOODY!
He has the only undefeated team in the NBA and has won all his games by double digits! Just stomping people..Get out the folding chair and a good book…..Hehehehehehe
WOODY>WOODYLITE>WOODYLITE Jr
22-6
terrell
November 10th, 2012
12:47 pm
Does Josh want out of Atlanta? Why else would you launch jumpshots(when they werent falling)knowing good and darn well that your’re new boss(who just moved JJ and Marvin) is watching? Just doesnt make any sense. He’s either stupid, dumb as dirt, or spoiled(by Uncle Larry). I’d have to take the latter.
HawkFan
November 10th, 2012
12:59 pm
ag
I said at best another Morrow/Korver. I would assume practice shows who the coaches have most confidence in and that’s who plays. I’d like to see Jenkins play too but not at expense of a better player
I am going to just accept a real good effort by the Hawks and hope somehow our coaches figure out how to maximize this roster. Too many at some spots and not enough at others. Injuries to our thin front court would be devastating
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
1:06 pm
Grandad’s counter: T -26
Houston, you copy that? Ah, roger Eagle-One….
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
1:07 pm
[if]^^^
rellis
November 10th, 2012
1:08 pm
This is a LD lost. Y do we draft players that we do not use.. On the bench is the # 1 shooter in the SFC last year. On the bench is Morrow( 5 th rated 3 pt shooter in the NBA and they sit in the 4th quarter. Make a lot of sense, or do it.. with them on the floor, we win>>we lost, cause we can’t make shots……………….
cp
November 10th, 2012
1:09 pm
People still have hope Josh will finally get it? LOL. Josh has been in the league damn near 10 years people. He is what he is at this point. You guys are going to drive yourselves crazy hoping that after almost 10 years the light will come on for this dude. I like Josh and was happy when the Hawks drafted him but at this point if DF finds a great deal for him I wouldn’t be mad if he is traded.
Before the season started I said I hope LD gets a better feel for the game but its apparent he hasn’t. He continues to give too many minutes to guys who aren’t producing and take out the guys who are.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
1:11 pm
I am interested to hear what people like Rod from CP, Najeh, Northcyde have to say about the Hawks Head Coaching future.
If this is really a transition year (which I do not believe – this team has great chemistry and if it wasn’t for LD’s 5h1tty subs and Smoove’s putrid performance we’d be much better), then does it matter if LD blows?
I want to see what coaches Ferry would consider bringing in here when Lame Duck’s contract expires. Who were the other candidates besides Mike Brown for the HC job in Cleveland when Ferry took over in 2005?
Unrelated: I think L.A. hires Phil and D’Antoni goes to Houston this coming offseason
i_am_soulstar
November 10th, 2012
1:11 pm
Josh is hurting this team with his random jumpers. I hate to join the bandwagon, but if he can’t make a free throw, why the hell is he shooting jump shots.
ag
November 10th, 2012
1:12 pm
Slim Jr., watching the flow of the game, I felt Horford played good defense on Bosh. I was really surprised to see him have 24 points. Then I realized he was 10-10 at the line.
I think that is one of the problems – Horford did not go to the line. That is because he did not shoot enough.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
1:16 pm
I can see Houston offering us Patterson and a bunch of garbage for Smoove. Wonder if DF even considers that deal
keith
November 10th, 2012
1:17 pm
This team needs to become Al Horfords team. Josh Smith was not a superstar, is not a superstar, and never will be a superstar. Time has come for Danny Ferry and the Atlanta Hawks basketball organization to move forward.(Laker Style).
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
1:18 pm
Brian Shaw should get a shot..
This guy has Mastered the Triangle Offense which can be attributed to at least 11 Championship rings?
Danny give Mr. Shaw a call…
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
1:19 pm
Almost want Smoove coming off bench so Horford can step his game up.
Sad when you have a 2x All-Star who is still timid
keith
November 10th, 2012
1:21 pm
Right now, Lou Williams is the only Atlanta Hawk basketball player that is Fantasy Basketball worthy. He is the only Hawk i have on my team.
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
1:21 pm
If you believe this team should become Al Horford’s team, then you believe the streak will continue. Hmmmm
T +46
ag
November 10th, 2012
1:23 pm
Also, horrible analogy to Romnesia. SlimJr 24-10 = 14. Math works out fine. So maybe I will put it another way – If Al would have gotten to the line at least 10 times, maybe he and Bosh would have had the same amount of points.
Or…. about 40% of the points Bosh scored, Al was not checking him. He scored them at the line. I really could pull all the facts and see how often Bosh scored on Al, but why bother, my eyes did not lie.
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
1:26 pm
Your opinion does count…………………………………
BTW, the word [if] is the smallest word in the dictionary but it is HUUUUUGGGGEEEE! LOL….
keith
November 10th, 2012
1:27 pm
Amare Stoudemeire Vs Al Horford
Al Horford: Nobody’s scared of Amare
Updated: February 17, 2011, 9:43 AM ET
By Ian Begley | Special to ESPNNewYork.com
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NEW YORK — Atlanta Hawks forward Al Horford doesn’t know what Amare Stoudemire meant when he said Horford “don’t want to see me” on the court during Wednesday night’s Knicks-Hawks game at the Garden.
You can not punk out our center! heh heh heh heh heh
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
1:35 pm
Idea: START Morrow tomorrow at the Clippers. They have freaking Willie Green as their starting SG. We don’t need to start DeShawn (defense) on WILLIE FREAKING GREEN
LD: MAKE SOME ADJUSTMENTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
1:40 pm
I can use excuses too:
His ankle was sore but he did not complain and played anyway since it was a big game for his Hawks.
Those of you who have played the game know, if you only got one good ankle its going to affect your game if you rush back too soon..
It has a compounding affect if your experiencing other issues that have not been rectified, like flawed mechanics on the jumper release…
doc
November 10th, 2012
1:54 pm
nothing but slimj. heh heh
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
1:55 pm
I don’t recall us losing big home games under Woodson (who I think is a mediocre head coach) like we do now. We don’t seem to win many big home games at all anymore, and this dates back two years.
Miami, Lakers. I don’t think we’ve beaten Miami at home in 2 years.
Jamaaliver
November 10th, 2012
1:59 pm
Josh has been a bone head, bad shooting, temper tantrum throwing nightmare for 8 seasons now.
We’ve been saying the same thing about Josh for sooo long. If he gets his head on straight. If he was the main okption. If he learned to play smarter.
This is his 9th season. It ain’t happening. He is in his prime…NOW. 2 Years from now when he’s pushing thirty, he’ll be useless. No explosion, no dunks, no blocks, limited post moves, low bball IQ.
It’s been 8 freakin years and he’s only shot 50% from the floor once. Since then he’s gtten progressively worse.
8 years and we’re still waiting. It’s time to move on. He’s never even avg 20 ppg. or avg a double double.
Why are you guys so committe to a guy who has never won or accomplished anything in his entire career?
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 10th, 2012
2:10 pm
Co-sign Jamal^^^^
Just Joe
November 10th, 2012
2:23 pm
I don’t think Josh gets traded, but I’d have to listen if Houston started off an offer with Donatas Montiejunas, Terrence Jones, and removing the protection from our picks.
Just Joe
November 10th, 2012
2:27 pm
And as for Horford, if Orlando wanted to start a deal off with Nikola Vucevic, Andrew Nicholson, and a pick, I’d be all over that as well.
Nate ArchiBALL
November 10th, 2012
2:31 pm
“Josh took 10 more shots than Horford”
Poor shot selection is not only the shots you take but also the shots you pass up – Al Horford – poor shot selection due to the shots he passes up……….open jumpers (in his range), not driving to the basket (zero free throws taken). Al has to be more aggressive on the offense.
Rim Rocker
November 10th, 2012
2:32 pm
The Hawks play better without Josh Smith. Sad an NBA player cant even shoot free throws…
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
2:35 pm
Just Joe
November 10th, 2012
2:27 pm
“And as for Horford, if Orlando wanted to start a deal off with Nikola Vucevic, Andrew Nicholson, and a pick, I’d be all over that as well.”
Make it so!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Aye Captain!!!!!
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
2:37 pm
Excellent Points Nate!
Why does he pass em up? Hmmmm
hot.trod.87
November 10th, 2012
2:39 pm
Josh smith did a damm good job defensively on Lebron James….Bosh had his way with Al…” Josh guarded as well as anyone could.I thought Drew should’ve came back w Morrow over Stevenson. Especially since Josh was guarding LeBron anyway. I didn’t like that they didn’t call a push off on Lebron’s last shot. Ray Allen got away w one too. Josh Smith needs to go back to his post all star break performance last year playing without Al. To be fair guarding LeBron took way from his O. His teammates have to step it up then. Teague & Morrow did. I need to see more out of Al. He’s too robotic in the post. He also lost Bosh too often on the defensive end.
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
2:39 pm
Zero free throws from your power forward?
Ah Houston, I believe we have a problem.Copy that Eagle one!
Slimjr
November 10th, 2012
2:45 pm
0-4 in the 4th from your power forward is far from getting it done..
Y_A_W_N
Lir(Dominican)
November 10th, 2012
2:46 pm
Josh lover are trying to distract people bashing horford cauze is horford foult for not takin the ball out of josh handz. his assigment was to find open people at the 3, maybe josh should have do what horford did pass the ball.
Rusty
November 10th, 2012
2:55 pm
Ah Houston we have a big problem here,LD
Just Joe
November 10th, 2012
2:56 pm
Horford by quarters:
3 for 3
0 for 0
1 for 1
1 for 5
Rusty
November 10th, 2012
2:58 pm
I think Al is a big asset,but he needs to shoot more,on defense he doesn’t close out on bigs like Bosh,you just can’t let guys like him free to shoot uncontested jump shots.
hot.trod.87
November 10th, 2012
3:04 pm
Josh & Al are not cohesive together…Both have their best games when one is out….Saw that all last year when Al was out…Saw that one game when Josh was out…That is a serious problem…When have they gotten a double double together ? Josh & Teague held a 40-26 record with no Al, no Hinrich, a partial Joe & Marvin, & a bench that consisted of Ivan, Pargo, Green, Rad, Stackhouse, McGrady, & Collins. Al in that one OKC had a better bench than Josh. You can also look at the Dominican- US Olympics trial game to see him look lost
i_am_soulstar
November 10th, 2012
3:09 pm
On the bright side, Teague is having a great year so far. Sorry Danny Ferry, but #paydatman.