Hawks top Clippers for fifth consecutive win
Jeff Teague scored 19 points and dished out 11 assists and an inspired but short-handed bench sparked the Hawks to their fifth consecutive win, a 104-93 victory over the Clippers on Saturday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks (8-4) outscored the Clippers 34-19 in the third quarter, and their bench, missing two key players, outscored the Clippers’ 20-0 in the first half. It was the Clippers’ (8-5) third consecutive loss and ended their four-game trip.
“It was a really gutsy win for our ball club,” coach Larry Drew said. “I thought the bench did a phenomenal job, not a good job, a phenomenal job in getting us going.”
Lou Williams, one of those bench players, sparked the team in the second with nine points. He finished with 18 of the reserves’ 31 points.
“I was just playing aggressive,” he said. “That’s what I bring to the table, just to be aggressive and try to create as many plays as I can.”
Zaza Pachulia, who started, had his first double-double this season, with 19 points and 12 rebounds, as five Hawks scored at least 10 points. The Hawks will play host to Charlotte on Wednesday and will try to extend their win streak to six.
The Hawks were without guard Devin Harris, whose status is described as day-to-day because of an injured big toe on his left foot. He has averaged 6.2 points per game. They also watched DeShawn Stevenson closely, as Drew said the team normally does when playing the second of back-to-back games. They ended up not needing Stevenson, who has averaged 6.1 points per game.
They were also without Josh Smith for most of the first half after he picked up two fouls in the first 5:18. He and coach Drew had a short but terse exchange as he was subbed out, but the bench carried the team in the second quarter as the Hawks outscored the Clippers 30-17 to take a 51-41 lead into the half. Drew downplayed the severity of their conversation, pointing out that Smith responded in the second half to score all 17 of his points.
“Like I say, when we find our stride we are going to be a pretty good team,” Smith said. “We are starting to gel and everybody’s starting to figure out. We look pretty good.”
The Hawks opened a 27-point lead before the Clippers cut it to 10 behind the sharpshooting of former Hawk Jamal Crawford, with less than seven minutes remaining.
Kyle Korver made a 3-pointer in the corner to stop the run as the Clippers’ comeback ran out of steam.
Drew said the key for the Hawks was to defend the Clippers’ pick-and-roll and match their rugged style, something they failed to do in the second half of their only previous meeting this season, an 89-76 win for L.A.
Drew also said he didn’t want the Hawks to fall in love with jumpers, something they had mostly avoided during the win streak. That didn’t happen early against the Clippers. Only eight of the Hawks’ 21 points came in the free-throw lane in the first quarter, but they trailed by only three, despite the Clippers looking much fresher.
Teague and Williams began attacking more in the second quarter, helping the Hawks roll off a 16-0 run to take a 35-24 lead with less than eight minutes remaining in the half. Pachulia scored five points in the run and Teague added four.
“We were timid in the first quarter,” Teague said. “But Lou came in and made plays and we fed off him.”
– Doug Roberson, AJC
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179 comments Add your comment
Alex
November 25th, 2012
8:54 am
Larry Drew said “there was an exchange” between him and Josh when he pulled him in the first and thats why he sat him for the rest of the half. Glad Drew isn’t playing the best friend role and sat Josh for being disrespectful.
Doug Roberson
November 25th, 2012
8:58 am
He said he wasn’t going to play him anyway because he had two fouls
Big Ray
November 25th, 2012
9:02 am
Wow. Enjoyable game to watch last night, and I didn’t figure this team to be at 8-4 in the first 12 games. Caution says it’s early in the season, but these guys are ballin’ pretty well. Things I liked about last night’s game:
1) Teague taking control and becoming what some always believed he could be…a legit starting NBA pg. Last night, he was THE MAN.
2) Josh Smith going at it inside hard, turning it all around, and having one hell of a second half. I thought he had a better chance of succeeding than Al did in this matchup from a scoring standpoint and he proved it.
3) ZaZa’s performance. He beat that Clipper front line UP. On BOTH ends of the floor.
4) Lou Williams came to play. jamal who? Ha…
Hey….I gotta give LD’s retarded a$$ some credit…can’t act like they played well in spite of him…
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 25th, 2012
9:03 am
LD said forget the Fire LD folks?
And when did LD admit he made a mistake in who he cut? Post your sources or don’t post BS like this
glw
November 25th, 2012
9:19 am
LD is slow at times and a bit hard headed but seems to finally coming around to what we see obviously from afar.
1. Finally Tolliver is out of the rotation. Did he even see the floor last night, even with Stevenson and Devin out?
2. Playing Teague and Williams together isnt such a bad idea. LD has been apprehensible to play this lineup and basically trying to force Lou to be a pg. And this cuts into Teagues minutes. I hope this is the beginning of more to come, obviously you would have to limit Lou minutes at 2 guard against a Kobe or some big 2 guards, but he can hold his own against most, especially jump shot happy teams like the Clippers.
3. The big lineup isnt all bad. Playing Zaza does give you toughness and rebounding. and on offense with the big lineup, i see as long as we make the priority of playing thru Josh posting up smaller 3’s, that lineup will work just fine.
The Truth
November 25th, 2012
9:25 am
Question: What is the biggest factor that explain LD 5-game winning streak?
Answer: LD finally benched Anthony Tolliver
Question: Why is the Hawks jelling so early?
Answer: Less ISO, better ball movement, and no Anthony Tolliver
Ken Strickland
November 25th, 2012
9:58 am
BUDDY GRIZZARD-DOC never said LDrew admitted that cutting James and Benson was a mistake. He said LDREW SHOULD ADMIT TO HIS MISTAKE AND BRING BACK JAMES AND BENSON, and that’s what I was referencing. I’m sorry if I mislead you in any way.
I love this team, and I’ve felt from the very beginning it would be better than any team we’ve had in over a decade, assuming LDrew didn’t screw it up. We have an awful lot of talent for him to deal with, and it seems that he initially had difficulty trying to deal with it all.
He seems to have finally figured out the best way for him to handle all of the talent. He simply reduced his rotation, put his stupid bias aside to a certain extent, and is now playing talent over experience. Rookies need not look to see any action unless there’s a blowout, and even then their mins will be limited.
KKorver and AMorrow are better outside shooters than JJ or Marvin. DHarris and LWilliams can control the ball and penetrate better than JJ. The OFF runs much better and is far more productive with Teague controllng the ball and the OFF than JJ.
Even though our backcourt and SFs lack JJ and Marvin’s size and individual DEF ability, our added speed, quickness and athleticism has allowed us to employ a much more effective team DEF approach. I just can’t help thinking that DJames and KBenson could have ended up being this yrs version of IJohnson if they had been given the same chance he was given.
If given the right development and mins, they could have provided us with more production, versatility, and a much brighter future than Tolliver and Petro are providing, or are likely to provide in the future. When LDrew took over as HC, his gross mishandling of the JTeague MBibby situation proved his inability and/or unwillingness to commit to the development of young talent
If DFerry is as committed as he said to developing his draft picks and younger less experienced players, then he’ll have to replace Drew after the season, regardless of how many gms we win. Otherwise, we’ll end up being the same veteran preferenced perennial playoff team and playoff bust we were before he took over as GM.
Ken Strickland
November 25th, 2012
10:06 am
I watched KKorver frequently when on the DEF end, and he did a pretty good job of staying in front of his man. He’s definitely no longer a DEF liability. He obviously learned a lot about the importance of playing DEF, and how to play it in his time with the Bulls.
sam'l
November 25th, 2012
10:28 am
How good is this team? I really want to know.
keith
November 25th, 2012
10:50 am
Danny Ferry,
You gave us an early Christmas present by jettisoning Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams out of here. Now, lets’ move FORWARD, no pun intended, and move one of our power forwards to Los Angeles and bring Mr. Gasol back home where he belongs. Send Josh Smith preferably.
Buddy Grizzard
November 25th, 2012
10:54 am
Thanks Ken… I was just getting a ray of hope from that thinking they might bring Benson and James back after the trade deadline. Petro becomes dead weight once he can no longer be traded and it’s much more likely they will cut him then to open a roster spot.
Slim
November 25th, 2012
10:54 am
I agree @ignition, I like that opposing teams can’t figure the hawks out. I truly think Ld made the right choices in regards to the players that were cut. At least now the opposing team has to guard everyone on the court, the ball moves, and everybody eats that’s the difference with this years team. If god is willing I hope ferry doesn’t roll the dice on some hum drum small forward, it will allow for more flexibility next season.
Slim
November 25th, 2012
10:55 am
I don’t understand why anyone would want gasoline soft a$$.
keith
November 25th, 2012
10:56 am
For some strange reason, Josh Smith thinks he is a jump shooter. That’s not his strength. Even fans yelling Nooooo when he starts to shoot a jumper doesn’t help? Maybe another coach can get him to get a clue. PLAY TO YOUR STRENGTHS JOSH.
keith
November 25th, 2012
11:01 am
Zsa Zsa Pachulia hopefully convinced Coach Drew why he should be the starting center for the remainder of the basketball season. 19points 12rebounds 3assists against an elite team. Larry Drew, wake up and start Zsa Zsa permanently please! He will only get better!
Slim
November 25th, 2012
11:10 am
I honestly have no problems with the shots josh taking, he’s not shooting a high volume as opposed to years past, however you gotta live with that shot, it shows his versatility. Nobody has a problem when he’s knocking them down, josh took over many games last season with the jump shot and other areas of the stat sheet that he dominates. I also love to mention he went head up with Durant last year, minus joe and horford, and put on a clinic and oh the hawks won that game. Bottom line he may not shoot well every night, but he won’t shoot you out of a game, also he rebounds, block shots, great passer, and solid defense.
Slim
November 25th, 2012
11:12 am
Josh is an all around player, a triple double waiting to happen, stay off his nuts and kill that trade bullish.
Slim
November 25th, 2012
11:12 am
Josh is an all around player, a triple double waiting to happen, stay off his nuts and kill that trade bullish.
heat check
November 25th, 2012
11:12 am
Beautiful game last night from the Hawks. Once Griffin started going off in the 1st qtr, I had visions of a half-full Phillips cheering the Clippers through the final buzzer. Thankfully this team doesn’t fold like teams of years past. Keep this up and ESPN might start giving some love. No, no they won’t.
Anyone know what’s up with the Hawk’s tv schedule? The DEN, WAS and MEM games don’t show as being televised anywhere that I’ve seen. I was hoping that ORL blackout was a one time deal.
Grandmaster JeJe (GM)
November 25th, 2012
11:16 am
Korver has been great for this team. I am sure he’s having a blast too, given that he is starting, he’s in a contract year, and he is producing. I enjoy seeing him on the court – no homo.
The Monger
November 25th, 2012
11:18 am
The biggest difference between this year and last year is easy, the addition of Kyle Korver and Anthony Morrow, as well as the progression of Jeff Teague as a point guard. We as a team get great penetration and because of this get a good amount of wide open 3’s. Last year these 3’s were bricked repeatedly by Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams, but now we actually have dead-eye shooters-Korver and Morrow that can drill those 3’s at a much higher percentage than last year, and you gain 3 or 4 more made 3-pointers a game, that turns a 90-88 loss last year into a 100-90 win this year. We have the defense, especially in the 2nd half to compete with contenders each and every night. The difference is this year, we aren’t going to see our offense score only 75-85 points with the consistency they did last year, when MANY games ended up with the Hawks failing to break 85 points, thanks in large part to ISO Joe dribbling around for 23 seconds and hoisting a low percentage fade away, and also as I said the fact we didn’t have a true 3 point shooter, so we relied on Marvin and Joe and VRad to hit those 3’s, and they failed quite often. I predict a 3 seed this year for the Hawks and a 55-27 record.
keith
November 25th, 2012
11:26 am
More minutes for Anthony Morrow, He may be a better overall player then Marshon Brooks. A lot of people wanted Marshon over Morrow in that trade. Morrow is a confident basketball player as well as Kyle Korver. We need this 2 guys to play heavy minutes. Marvin and Joe CHOKED in crunch time.
Right now, Lou Will, Kyle Korver, and A. Morrow, are playing with the most confidence.
ag
November 25th, 2012
11:28 am
Yesterday Josh changed his game. He did not act like the man yesterday, but he played within the flow of the game. He actually took only two shots out of the paint. Maybe he watched Al pad his stats in the paint in the Charolotte game.
keith
November 25th, 2012
11:30 am
Right now, who are the top 5 most talented Atlanta Hawks in order???
ag
November 25th, 2012
11:31 am
Keith is a Laker fan. People in LA HATE GASOL!!!! They would take a trade for Josh in a LA minute. That trade would hurt the Hawks. People call Horford soft, they will be calling Gasol liquid!!!
keith
November 25th, 2012
11:37 am
IMO if we obtained Pau, he would immediately start at center and be a 20/point 10/Rebound player.
He is playing out of position in LA. What we lose in defense, we gain in offense. He has 3-4 years left in the tank.
Joey
November 25th, 2012
11:38 am
I love this Hawks team!
And I love “Sweet Lou!”
keith
November 25th, 2012
11:39 am
Top 5 Hawks in order of talent are:
1. Josh Smith
2. Lou Williams
3. Jeff Teague
4. Al Horford
5. Anthony Morrow
Slim
November 25th, 2012
11:45 am
Gasol has played his best ball, that would be the dumbest trade ever.
keith
November 25th, 2012
11:45 am
Wow! we have the 3rd best record in the eastern conference. Outstanding team chemistry. We are one superstar away from ECF.
keith
November 25th, 2012
11:49 am
Is there anyone out there in blog land who thinks that Josh Smith can lead a team to an NBA championship? Any takers? I love Josh Smith and his skill set, but it’s time for him to move on. He may achieve all he desires to be with the right surroundings. Just not right now in DFs rebuilding plans.
ag
November 25th, 2012
11:54 am
Is there anyone out there in blog land who thinks that Paul Gasol can lead a team to an NBA championship? Any takers? I love Paul Gasol and his skill set, but it’s time for him to move on. He may achieve all he desires to be with the right surroundings. Just not right now with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash. He just does not fit in the D’Antonio’s system.
- this is some blogger from the LA Times, probally named Keith
ag
November 25th, 2012
11:55 am
Gasol’s conditioning an issue?
9:05
AM ETPau Gasol | Lakers Recommend0 Comments0Email The Lakers style of play is a lot faster now with head coach Mike D’Antoni in charge and one player that needs to quicken his pace is Pau Gasol.
“Pau is used to laboring up the floor and coasting a little bit,” Kobe Bryant told the Los Angeles Daily News. “In this offense, we have to put the motor on the first few steps we move up the court.”
When asked, Gasol says his conditioning isn’t a problem for D’Antoni’s system.
“I don’t know if it’s extremely physically demanding.” Gasol said. “It’s an offense that you have to move and have to be on the go and get to your spots run to your spots and find some good flow out there that we really haven’t reached consistently. The offense will evolve and will be better.”
Gasol was beaten several times on defense against the Kings on Wednesday and he needs to move quicker at that end of the floor, too.
11/23 ESPN Rumors
ag
November 25th, 2012
11:56 am
Pau is battling sore knee
10:55
AM ETPau Gasol | Lakers Recommend0 Comments0Email Pau Gasol admitted after Saturday’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks that he has been dealing with knee tendinitis for more than a month, according to the LA Times’ Mike Bresnahan.
“It’s something that has been lingering since this preseason. I’ve been dealing with it the best I can,” he said.
Gasol has averaged 51.9 FG% over the course of his lengthy career, but he is shooting just 43.4 percent from the field so far this season, and his scoring has dropped from 17.4 ppg last season to 13.4 ppg. Considering the significant roster changes the Los Angeles Lakers made between then and now, plus having three coaches already this season, it’s hard to say exactly what role his sore knee has played in his diminishing returns thus far.
11/25 ESPN Rumors
darrell starks
November 25th, 2012
11:58 am
This exactly why Zaza should be starting he do the dirty work in the paint and control the boards on defensive end, plus giving you and opportunity for second chance points.
Hawks must have atleast 1 role player in starting lineup to be successful and Zaza is that guy.
LD wake your A$$ up and starte Zaza the rest of the way.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
keith
November 25th, 2012
12:01 pm
Addition by subtraction seem to be Danny Ferrys’ Modus operandi . I fully expect him to make another trade by the deadline moving forward. Danny is trying to build a championship contender. He appears to not settle for mediocrity, like in years past.
darrell starks
November 25th, 2012
12:03 pm
Danny Ferry need be making some phone calls ASAP and find the Hawks a backup center behind Zaza.
This Hawks team is good just need that player at center.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
November 25th, 2012
12:12 pm
Kyrylo Fesenko is still available.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
keith
November 25th, 2012
12:13 pm
ag
November 25th, 2012
11:54 am
I love the Atlanta Hawks. I do not like Kobe, the Lakers, and i am not crazy about Pau Gasol. It’s just that for the Atlanta Hawks Basketball team to win a Championship, they need to make more changes, tweak their line-up a little bit. I am in favor of taking on Pau’s salary with a draft pick so we do not lose Josh for nothing like we did with Jamal. JOSH SMITH IS NOT RE-SIGNING WITH THE ATLANTA HAWKS, YOU HEARD IT HERE FIRST.
darrell starks
November 25th, 2012
12:19 pm
If Anthony Morrow had been playing at beginning of the season before Anthony Tolliver, Hawks might be 12 and 0.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
keith
November 25th, 2012
12:30 pm
Go Falcons!!!!! Go Dawgs!!!! and Go Hawks!!!!!!
ag
November 25th, 2012
12:34 pm
Josh loves Atlanta. He has a Hawk tatoo over his heart. If we pony up the dough, he is going to stay. A lot has to do with the fans and how well the Hawks do. Keith, nobody wants to do that trade because
A. Gasol makes $19 Million
B. I think he has two more years on his contract
C. He is 32 years old
D. Josh only makes 13.2. To make the trade, you have to bundle Lou or Korver and still add one more person.
Those are the objective reasons not to make the trade. We can certainly argue about the subjective reasons, but why bother, the objective stuff is good enough for me.
keith
November 25th, 2012
12:43 pm
ag
November 25th, 2012
12:34 pm
Let’s assume we do not make a trade. Do you think that Josh Smith will lead us to the Eastern Conference Finals?
keith
November 25th, 2012
12:48 pm
As we are currently constituted, Is there anyone out there in Blog Land who thinks we could defeat the Heat, Pacers, Celtics, or Bulls, even Brooklyn, in a 7 game series??? Oh, how about the Knicks and 76ers in a 7 game series? That makes us probably the 8th best team in the EAST.
Rusty
November 25th, 2012
12:53 pm
The key for the hawks is for LD to stop dicking around with JT’minutes,the hawks need him in the game to run the offense,Zazza also needs big min
sam'l
November 25th, 2012
12:56 pm
If Mr. Gasol is having tendinitis problems which are chronic and likely to continue, that should end this trade idea. I am also willing to change my viewpoint of Pachulia should be continue to perform, but like Josh Smith, I want to see some consistently intelligent basketball. If Pachulia can……run the floor and make layups!, hit pressure shots! and actually catch the ball in traffic and finish at the hoop!, then he will win my confidence. (seems like he did this this weekend).
Horford……free throws, free throws, free throws….practice….practice like you are Ray Allen………
I think Josh gets overamped some games and goes into another dimension……I used he think he partied the night the team got home….but now I think he really wants to win, but some part of him goes into a dimension where he has trouble functioning for a while. Recommend yoga for Josh. Then a strange thing might happen……He might become the player he is capable of, and this ragtag team of Hawks {{{{{{{might take it all}}}}}}
Rusty
November 25th, 2012
12:57 pm
Keith stop trying to trade Josh for Gasol that is just stupid,aren’t you the guy who always said that JT was garbage & always wanted to start Harris.
Big Ray
November 25th, 2012
12:59 pm
I don’t know why the Pau Gasol for Josh Smith stuff keeps coming up. Bad move for a lot of reasons. Not worth discussing. The only thing you could come up with is establishing a legit post presence on offense. But we need more than that and we’d be giving up to much to get it, plus that’s a move you make to bolster a championship squad…which we don’t have. Leave it be…
Just Joe
November 25th, 2012
1:05 pm
Gasol has a 15% trade kicker on his salary too…and I don’t believe LA has any picks available to trade any time soon (after the Howard and Nash trades). Not likely to happen.
ag
November 25th, 2012
1:08 pm
Rusty I have posted more than enough reasons for him never to post that again. The only team we could not beat in a series are the Heat.