Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 100, Wizards 95 OT (updated)
Vivlamore reporting.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – It wasn’t supposed to be this close. But was it ever.
DeShawn Stevenson, who the Hawks hoped not to play, hit a key 3-pointer with 2:07 remaining in overtime to help the Hawks to a 100-95 victory over the lowly Wizards Tuesday night at the Verizon Center.
The Hawks could have sealed the game at the free-throw line in the final two minutes. However, Stevenson and Al Horford each hit only one of two free throws. After a Jordan Crawford basket and a missed Hawks shot, the Wizards trailed 98-95 and had the ball with 24 seconds remaining. The Wizards’ Nene missed a shot in the paint and Kyle Korver sank two free throws with 7.7 remaining to clinch the victory.
The Hawks ordinarily don’t play the veteran Stevenson in back-to-back games and wanted to save him for Wednesday’s game against the Thunder. However, with Anthony Morrow out and Devin Harris injured during the game, coach Larry Drew had no option. When Harris couldn’t return for the second half, Stevenson got his ankles taped during the intermission.
“We were a little short-handed and I got in a situation where I was running out of bodies particularly on the perimeter and we had guys in foul trouble,” Drew said. “So I had to choice put the play DeShawn and he really stepped it up big time for me. He came in and did a great job defensively, knocked a 3 down, got a tip-in follow on a fast break.”
The Hawks (15-7) defeated the Wizards for the third time this season and sixth straight overall. It was the Hawks’ 18th victory over Washington in the past 19 games between the teams. The only game Atlanta has lost came when Josh Smith was out with an injury April 9, 2011.
The Hawks held the Wizards to five overtime points.
“It was tough,” Stevenson said of his late entrance. “I’ve been through so much in my career, getting played in the fourth quarter for two minutes and two seconds. I’m just mentally strong. We needed that win and we got it.
The Hawks have won 12 of their past 15 games. They play the second of four games in five days Wednesday at home against the Thunder.
Lou Williams led the Hawks with 24 points, including a basket and free throw in overtime. Josh Smith had 17 points and 13 rebounds and Korver finished with 16 points.
“I continued to play and stay aggressive,” Williams said. “Any time that I thought I saw a crease I was able to take it. Tonight was one of those games we didn’t play with a lot of energy so I just wanted to be aggressive any time I had the ball.”
The Wizards (3-19) lost for their fourth straight game. They were led by the former Hawk Crawford with a game-high 27 points. Crawford did a lot of talking during the game, to Jeff Teague and the Hawks bench. Teague was called for a foul after hitting Crawford in the face and it got under the skin of the guard, who hit five 3-pointers.
“That’s my homeboy,” Teague said. “We played together for half a season so we are really good friends. We were just talking a little bit – bragging rights for the summer. … We joked about it after the game. I said ‘You finally made some shots against us.’ He laughed about it.”
With the Hawks holding a one-point lead, 87-86, Smith was fouled going to the basket with 1:05 remaining. However, he missed both free throws and opened the door for the Wizards.
After a Bradley Beal floater gave the Wizards the lead, Williams answered with a 3-pointer with 43.8 seconds remaining. Back came the Wizards on a jumper from Emeka Okafor that tied the game, 90-90, with 23 seconds remaining.
Playing for the final shot, Teague drove to basket but was called for a charge with 2.7 remaining setting up overtime. Crawford missed at the buzzer to force the extra session.
“Coach told me to make a play at the rim and put it on the officials,” Teague said of the final play of regulation. “I guess they made a good play.”
When asked if he thought it was a charge, Teague said “No, but it was the call that was made.”
In three games against the Wizards this season, Smith has averaged 21.7 points and 13 rebounds.
The Hawks led by as many as eight points in the first half and took a 52-46 lead into intermission. Korver had 10 first half points, including three 3-pointers.
Coach and players pointed to the team’s defensive effort in the overtime as the reason for the victory. However, the effort will have to be there again Wednesday.
“We locked down and played solid defense,” said Al Horford, who had five points and 11 rebounds. “We need to be more consistent in that end. Tomorrow that has to be a point of emphasis because Oklahoma is probably the best team in the NBA right now. We are going to have our hands full.”
Notes
* Harris left the game in the second quarter and did not return with what the team described as a sore left foot. The guard had eight first-half points before leaving with the injury.
* Ivan Johnson left the game in the second quarter with a cut on his right hand that required four stitches. The cut was between the fourth finger and pinkie. He returned following halftime.
* Morrow missed his second straight game with a sore back. The guard practiced Monday and participated in the shoot-around Tuesday but was declared out prior to the game. Drew said the team was being cautious with the injury by giving Morrow extra rest. The team is still listing Morrow as day-to-day and his status for Wednesday’s home game against the Thunder is uncertain.
- Chris Vivlamore
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157 comments Add your comment
SteveW
December 19th, 2012
6:11 pm
AJ – Teagues lack of consistency is his lack of skill. A guy a notch up on the skill set doesn’t have to get up for a particular opponent, or play down to the level of competition. Teagues good, not great. Improving. I look at his assists, turnovers and D way more than I look at his shots.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 19th, 2012
6:15 pm
“I have explained that there is a difference between actual stats and “Per 36 Minutes” stats. “Per 36 Minutes” are projected stats based on actual stats and “Per 36 Minutes” are also an “assumption” of what a player would “produce” (statistically) if that player averaged (or logged) 36 minutes per game. If a player gets the opportunity to play or log more minutes per game, that does not (or may not) necessarily mean that player will produce more (statistically) per game. This concept/idea involves “the law of diminishing returns.””
All of this is 100% correct. But it still has nothing to do with the fact that Jamal plays more minutes than Lou and thus has more of an opportunity to get to the free throw line. When your opportunities are greater, your production will be greater. Michael Turner has run for more yards than Jacquizz Rodgers — is he better than Quizz? No, he just gets more carries. Morgan Freeman has probably had more sex than Justin Bieber — do girls think he’s more attractive? No, he has just lived longer. Jamal’s free throw attempts are almost equal to Lou’s — does he get to the line as well? No, he just plays more minutes. All per-minute stats do is adjust for a player who has played more minutes than another player.
It is fair to bring up diminishing returns when you are talking about two players who play drastically different roles. Last year, for example, northcyde often used to bring up per-36 stats to compare Marvin and Jamal. He was wrong because Marvin’s role is dramatically different from Jamal’s and Marvin tends to shoot a lot more open shots that are created by others, while Jamal tends to shoot more contested shots that he creates. So saying that Marvin would maintain the same percentages with an expanded role isn’t accurate.
Lou, on the other hand, plays the exact same role as Jamal. His responsibilities and general skill set are extremely similar, and the percentage of his shots that he creates and that are contested are likely quite similar to Jamal. So it is a lot more believable to say that Lou, if given the five extra minutes per game that Jamal gets, would correspondingly increase his free throw attempts as well.
MattP
December 19th, 2012
6:19 pm
Hawks coach Larry Drew says there is “strong possibility” rookie John Jenkins will play vs. Thunder. #ATLHawks
Wow this coach is so clueless. Jenkins gets a DNP against the Wizards, which would have been a better matchup for him. Now he will probably play against Martin on the best team in the NBA.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 19th, 2012
6:24 pm
“Jamal plays more minutes because he is more explosive. ”
“Marvin Williams always had good PER numbers, and he is a bum.”
Haha. OK. One little problem with these two statements: Marvin has played more minutes than Lou every single year of his career, including this one. So is Marvin playing more minutes than Lou because he is more explosive? Or is Lou a bum?
The funny thing is that my opinion of Jamal and Lou is almost exactly the same as yours. But for some reason, any time anyone mentions a stat that you or High-Sider doesn’t understand, you automatically think they are full of sh-t. You two remind me a lot of the Republicans who didn’t believe Nate Silver’s projections until the election was over. Just because you don’t understand something doesn’t mean it doesn’t have value when placed in the right context.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 19th, 2012
6:31 pm
And just to clarify, John Hollinger’s PER stat is completely, totally different from per-minute numbers. PER involves some complex formula that Hollinger made up. I have said repeatedly in the past that for a variety of reasons I don’t give two sh-ts about PER. Per-minute stats on the other hand are just what a player does per minute. If a player plays 10 minutes in a game and gets 40 rebounds, he is getting 4 rebounds per minute and 40 rebounds per game. If a player plays 40 minutes in a game and gets 40 rebounds, he is getting 1 rebound per minute and 40 rebounds per game. If you use per game stats, it would seem like both are equally good at rebounding. If you use per-minute stats, it becomes clear that the first player is 4 times better at rebounding than the second player.
Rod from College Park
December 19th, 2012
6:36 pm
“I never even mentioned PER. I am not talking about “what would someone do if”. I am talking about what Lou actually does per minute vs. what Jamal actually does per minute.”
Lou Williams per 36 min playoff career- 5.4
Jamal Crawford per 36 min playoff career- 5.5
So let me get this straight since I am not as smart as you. Does this mean, that when the game means the most, when you make your bones as a basketball player in the NBA, Jamal gets to the line more than Lou? Would I be correct? I was an athlete, did not play fantasy sports. Am I reading the data correctly? LOL.
“But for some reason, any time anyone mentions a stat that you or High-Sider doesn’t understand, you automatically think they are full of sh-t.”
Never that. I totally respect your’s or anyone else opinions if they as speaking the truth. You usually do, but you are off on this one. Just my opinion.
Najeh Davenpoop
December 19th, 2012
6:44 pm
“If LouWill avgs more attempts per game (3.7 vs. 3.4), while playing on average 5 less minutes per game, then Lou obviously gets to the line at a higher “rate” than Jamal. The key word being “rate”, which implies an average over a period of time (minute perhaps) or event (game perhaps).”
(emphasis added)
This is exactly 100% of my point. The only reason I ever brought up per minute stats is that they highlight the fact that Lou plays less than Jamal. That’s it. Somehow, bringing up this point turns these into “theoretical stats” or whatever.
I get the feeling if I had used the exact same per-minute stats to say something positive about Jamal, Rod and High-sider would be co-signing me.