Atlanta Hawks: Hawks 102, Cavaliers 94 (updated)
Vivlamore reporting from Cleveland.
As the Hawks prepared for the opening tipoff against the Cavaliers, Josh Smith pointed at Jeff Teague. It was a meaningful gesture as if to tell the point guard ‘It starts with you.’
Did it ever.
Teague scored a career-high 27 points, including 14 in the first half, as the Hawks rallied late for a 102-94 victory over the Cavaliers Friday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Hawks (18-9) scored the final points of the game, after trailing 94-93, to pull out their third straight win. They got a basket by Teague, a basket and two free throws from Al Horford and a 3-pointer from Kyle Korver to seal the hard-fought victory.
Smith and Teague revealed little about what is a pre-game ritual.
“He always says ‘C’mon, energy, effort,’” Teague said. “That’s our thing.”
Smith would not give details. However, he didn’t hesitate to state the importance of Teague.
“It’s something that we have going,” Smith said. “It’s between me and him. As he goes, in all seriousness, whenever he is aggressive on both ends of the floor it sets the tone for us and we are a successful team. He understands now. He’s coming into his own. He understands where we need him to be.”
The Hawks, playing short-handed, also got double-figure scoring from Lou Williams (16 points), Horford (16), Anthony Tolliver (13) and Korver (11). Teague also had eight assists and two steals and Horford finished with 11 rebounds.
The Hawks were without Ivan Johnson (stomach illness) and Devin Harris (sore left foot). They lost Anthony Morrow (strained right hip muscle) for the second half. They then lost Smith (strained right hip flexor) for the fourth quarter. Coach Larry Drew said he was tempted to use DeShawn Stevenson, resting for Saturday’s back-to-back game against the Pacers.
“The guys who came off the bench did a phenomenal job,” Drew said.
The Hawks led 55-54 at halftime despite leading by as many as 11 points in the second quarter. They used a 14-3 run in the second quarter to take control early. Much of the 11-point lead was built with bench players including Tolliver, Morrow, Zaza Pachulia and Mike Scott. Tolliver had 11 points in the second quarter, including two 3-pointers, with four rebounds, one assist and one blocked shot.
The Cavaliers closed the gap to a single point at intermission with a 15-5 run highlighted by Irving’s crazy running 3-pointer at the buzzer. Waiters and Irving combined for 13 of the points in the run.
“We were just playing hard,” Tolliver said of the bench play. “We all went out there and said ‘We have nothing to lose.’ Let’s play hard and play together. That’s what we did. We made some shots, we created shots for each other and got the good lead.”
The Cavaliers (7-24) had their two-game win streak snapped. Irving scored a game-high 28 points to lead the Cavaliers and Dion Waiters added 18 points.
His hair was there but Anderson Varejao was not. The Cavaliers played without the NBA’s leading rebounder on ‘Anderson Varejao Wig Night’ in Cleveland.
The Cavaliers kept the momentum following intermission and went on a 14-4 run to start the third quarter. They opened a nine-point lead, 68-59, before the Hawks made a run of their own. Aided by two straight 3-pointers from Korver and one each by Williams and Teague they briefly regained lead. The Cavaliers scored the final six points, four on free throws by Alonzo Gee, and took an 80-75 lead into the final quarter.
However, the Hawks outscored the Cavaliers 27-14 in the fourth quarter.
“It was a good example of youth versus experience,” Cavaliers coach Byron Scott said. “If you don’t know what I mean, the last three minutes of the game the Hawks did a heck of a job running their offense and getting the ball into the paint and we just settled for bad jump shots.”
Teague was 11 of 19 from the field, including 3 of 6 from 3-point range.
“I didn’t say a word to him,” Drew said of Teague. “I would like to take credit for it but, no, I’m not going to do it. He just came out and played. He played with the energy and the intensity I’ve always said when he plays with that type of energy he makes us a much better ball club. He came out and took the challenge.”
The win avenges the November loss at Philips Arena when the Hawks failed to hold a nine-point fourth-quarter lead.
The Cavaliers lost guard Daniel Gibson in the second quarter with a concussion after he took an inadvertent hand to the face by Morrow.
- Chris Vivlamore
LATEST NEWS
* Drew acknowledges Smith’s ‘poor shot selection’ late vs. Pistons
* Johnson doubtful vs. Cavs with stomach illness
* Drew speaks to Teague about energy level
* Hawks 126, Pistons 119 (2OT)
* Williams remains in starting lineup
* Hawks have lost two of past three
* Williams ready for return to Philadelphia
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164 comments Add your comment
KevinM
December 29th, 2012
12:17 am
I meant ‘no 3 pt shot’ as opposed to ‘on 3 pt shot’.
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
12:25 am
Sacramento really knows how to make you nervous, they won….barely 105-106
doc
December 29th, 2012
12:28 am
look out for denver in the second half. now standing at 17-14. they have played 21 of their first 31 games on the road. they are going to have a lot of fun in the second half with folks coming into their mile high environment over and over. they are a cool 9-1 at home.
HawkFan
December 29th, 2012
12:29 am
Nice win against a bad team but one that got hot and pushed us pretty good. Lot of contributions with Josh having an off night. Tolliver, Jenkins, Teague, Al, Lou were solid. Korver is officially upgraded to being a vital defender which is very surprising to me. Make it back to back against the sorry Pacers
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
12:29 am
Were ties with NYK in the loss column with 9 on the season. We definitely need a win tomorrow night. Indy is playing on a back-to-back as well.
doc
December 29th, 2012
12:29 am
tough loss by the knicks at the buzzer.
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
12:30 am
*Tied
ag
December 29th, 2012
12:32 am
It was a good game by AT – but please lets not put him in the starting rotation yet. The more I watch JJ, the more I really like the kid. I can see the Hawks trading Morrow for Williams in Minny and awarding his minutes to JJ.
I think LD just did a good coaching job by keeping Josh out of the lineup in the 4th quarter. I am sure he was no more hurt than Al. Although he struggled with his shot, Josh did help in other area’s.
As I have posted before, we just don’t have consistent players. How do you go from 31 to 7? I am very sure JT0 will struggle tomorrow. Al is the closest player that is consistent.
Nate ArchiBALL
December 29th, 2012
12:37 am
From Hawks PR department: Al Horford has 172 field goals this season, 38 (22.1 percent) were assisted by Josh Smith.
Ken Strickland
December 29th, 2012
12:40 am
JUST JOE-FPB. To answer your question, yes I’d match a $40M 4-5yrs contract offer for Teague, especially if LDrew isn’t retained. That would be a helluva lot better investment than we’ve made for Bibby, Marvin, TLue, or AJohnson.
Teague has Allstar potential, and a less critical and more supportive HC could make it happen. LDrew has done a very good job of developing and utilizing a team OFF and DEF concept. However, he’s often missed the boat when it comes to player rotations and utilization.
Rusty
December 29th, 2012
12:42 am
Grandad have no proof but it sure looks possible as josh kept shooting & missing jump shots,well if that was not the case,we would have to think that Josh just thought hell with you I will do whatever I want. I don’t think any one blogging here don’t have the right to say what they think & I dont have to account to you on anything I say. I have the feeling that anything any one says that you don’t agree with seems to irritate you. I’ ll say it again that I think LD is a lousy coach & he hasn’t done anything to make JT’ career successful.
2 FOR JOHN DREW
December 29th, 2012
12:43 am
Great game to watch …… Teague showed his stuff ….. Tolliver had a good game, saw him on the bench beaming after a good stint ……I’ll take Lou the shooter …. But Lou the PG, no !!!!!! …… I’ve noticed Korver hardly ever takes a bad shot, and boy, you better be in shape if you must guard him. Get well Hawks so we can keep this train rolling ….. Hope Teague shines brightly tomorrow night in his hometown
Rusty
December 29th, 2012
12:43 am
Sue me if you don’t like my opinion.
sam'l
December 29th, 2012
12:45 am
Glad the Hawks won, but they had to win this game. How many “bad” teams can they play? I’m afraid they are so beaten up with injuries it may cost them. Wish the bickerng would stop over lineups and playing time. I like analysis and insight.
O'brien
December 29th, 2012
12:49 am
KevinM,
The assumption is morrow would be traded for a SF.
Doc,
My surprise team in the west is warriors. Currently 19-10, 5 th in the west (although I don’t know if they can last the entire season. That west is tough).
Ken S,
I think Teague’s next contract will be 4 years, and somewhere between $24 – $32 mil.
Rusty
December 29th, 2012
12:56 am
It sure would be great to make 32 million .
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
12:58 am
Derrick Williams is the second coming of Marvin Williams. Straight Trash. As Minnesota fans and they will tell you. They know good basketball. They had KG for 12 seasons. Look At Derrick Williams’ stats and compare them to Marvin’s. Go to his 2nd year stats as well. Horrible. Can’t shoot and can’t dribble.
He is not a SF and Ivan is a better PF than him. We don’t need him.
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
12:59 am
He’s also only 6′7
TMoney
December 29th, 2012
1:08 am
It is time that JT get the props he deserves. Many were trying to grip about his perceive short comings without taking account of increased production over the last two yrs since he has been the Hawks starting point guard. Basketball is a game of confidence that is built on hard work. Jeff has worked hard on his game and it shows points – up, assist – up, steals -up.
Look at what Rondo did in his 1st two yrs starting for the Celtics and you will see the same kind of transition!!! By the way many in bean town did not think he was their point guard of the future, but he keep working and become an all-star.
In JT I see the same kind of potential – All-Star potential. HARD WORK + FREAKISH ABILITY + CONFIDENCE = SUCCESS. You are watching the evolution of a top level NBA point guard!!! YR three will be even more of a break out year if coaching does not get in the way!!!
Rod from College Park
December 29th, 2012
1:13 am
“Missed all but the last 4 minutes (friend’s wedding) but Rod and slimjr got me thinking about Horford and a lack of taking charges on D. So here’s what I found:
http://hoopdata.com/defrebstats.aspx
According to hoopdata, the league average rate of charges taken is 0.13/ gm.
Horford is at 0.15
Josh is 0.30
So, while Horford is half as active as Josh, he apparently DOES draw charges every now and then, and above the league average, at that.”
It was a nice try defending your beloved Horford, but the stats don’t express what we were talking about. We are not talking about the rate one draws charges, or the league average. We were talking about Horford stopping dribble penetration by either contesting the shot or stepping in for a charge. First the stats were posted were based on 20 games this year (incomplete), Second the stats don’t tell when the charge was taken. From watching the Hawks, I would assume a lot of Horford’s charges come from defending centers in the post, and getting pushed around, not him stepping in taking charges from penetrating guards. Third even if you did want to try to use the stat to prove anything, it still proves that Josh and Zaza take charges at a higher rate than Al, which actually would prove our point. But again we don’t know when these charges were taken, and even further Zaza will try to draw a charge before he contest. Better than the league average means nothing in our debate. Good try though.
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
1:19 am
I’d Give up Tolliver, Stevenson, and Petro for Derrick Williams but that’s it. That’s about 3mill+ which is around what he makes….
Honesty
December 29th, 2012
1:25 am
“Utah Jazz Twitter Account Takes Shot At Deron Williams Following The Firing Of Avery Johnson”
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/12/28/utah-jazz-twitter-account_n_2374885.html
Hilarious! The guy got in serious trouble though lol.
Sameba
December 29th, 2012
1:58 am
Given the excellent play by Teague, the game changer today was Zaza. When he played, our defence got solid. I noticed Cavs were not entering our paint that often and they lost the rebounding battle. Zaza was also very useful on offence. With his performance, he has shown that he is more than a backup C.
I also noticed that Teague & Zaza play very well together. Zaza sets lots of screens for Teague and this helps Teague to penetrate and stay aggressive…
doc
December 29th, 2012
1:59 am
o’b absolutely. david lee is balling in an all star way. they just finished a road swing themselves.
Grandad
December 29th, 2012
2:01 am
Rusty
Got you riled up, eh.
I don`t give a rat`s @$$ whether or not you did this that or th`uther.
You know very well why I decided to bait you tonite.
Yes – you are allowed an opinion.
No – you do not have to account to me for anything.
quote:
“I have the feeling that anything any one says
that you don’t agree with seems to irritate you”
-Rusty-
I`m sorry you have that impression – incorrect as it may be.
I really enjoy healthy discourse.
The problem:
The other nite – you made mention of me;
to which I tried to respond;
you devolved into a nattering, name-calling, metaphor mixin`,
poser who would not or could not formulate your intent
much less justify.
____________________________________________
Now Rusty … I`m finished for now.
Your call – keep it up if you wish.
____________________________________________
Rusty part |||:
You and I have a shared opinion of LD;
that is much closer than you may think.
Ditto – Teaguer.
Sameba
December 29th, 2012
2:14 am
Yes, LD also deserves props for utilizing bench and playing (finally!!) our rookies. But I suspect that could be the compelled step from him…
EmirS.
December 29th, 2012
2:16 am
What steps out at me is the 5 blocks, 6 assists, and 6 rebounds that Josh still managed to put up. He was 3/4 on his free throws as well. If he could cut those 5 turnovers to 1 or 2, than his box score wouldn’t look as bad with the 2/12 on his field goals.
Same for Lou, those turnovers really ruin a players scorecard.
Nice win tonight nonetheless.
Johnny
December 29th, 2012
3:12 am
I really like the pick and roll game of JT and Al. This is working a lot of times very well for us. Wether picknroll or picknpub, there is always an easy basket for Al. They have to perfect this and it would be very succesfull for us.
my real name Rick Hayden
December 29th, 2012
3:34 am
To: Danny Ferry….fraid you gots lotsa work to do…same old Hawks story…owners call this a success, but this stuff goes way way back..to mediocraty…Lenny Wilkens asked for some real players and still managed 50 wins with sub players…I pray Bob WEISS IS STILL NOT CONSULTING…YOU CAN FILL Phillips Arena, maybe, with dollar tickets, but there is no faith the Hawks will get anywhere in the playoffs….I am just a barely hanging on fan…Get A real coach, the other night, Larry Drew said”I saw them looking up at the scoreboard(on the 22 point comeback), them being his own team”, ah Larry , what did you say to them? Hire Mark Fox, at least he has a plan. Can Drew, at least let us know we have a coach, screw the won-lost recored, please???
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
6:40 am
An anomaly Rev? Perhaps?
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
6:48 am
Excellent rebuttal Rod FCP!
Yes, it was a valiant try for his [fan club]. hahahahahah
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
6:52 am
Yes doc, Melo is missed big time! Valiant try by his teammates?
Cleveland really did miss their Hawk killer last night…
Whew…..
The Hawks are hanging around with the Elites in the East..Nice…
Hawks Fan Down Under
December 29th, 2012
7:04 am
Great game from Teague but seriously Josh Smith needs someone to sit him down and tell hm to NEVER take another 20 footer EVER again. So frustrating to watch. I thought LD dragged him and sat his dumb arse in the 4th. I guess he didnt so we’ll continue to see stupid 20 footers go up. Josh will never win a title with his offensive mentality. We won in spite of his shot selection tonight!
Buddy Grizzard
December 29th, 2012
7:06 am
“Korver > Hinrich’s entire Hawk career. Good swap.”
Co-sign, says Hinrich’s biggest fan. Korver commands a lot of attention from the defense and gives good effort and surprisingly good technique as a defender. He also takes care of the ball and keeps the offense flowing with good passing. I’m surprised by his all-around game.
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
7:09 am
Josh had 5 blocks. So theoretically, he wiped away potentially up to 15 points…Impact playa? Yes..
See he can contribute in other ways…
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
7:13 am
In the Clutch both Al and Josh are shooting less than 34% at the stripe..
It will comeback to haunt this team down the road..
Buddy Grizzard
December 29th, 2012
7:17 am
“Make it back to back against the sorry Pacers”
Pacers on a 4-game winning streak, 7-3 in their last 10 currently sit two games behind the Hawks. If they win, the “sorry Pacers” will be a game behind the Hawks.
“Teague has Allstar potential, and a less critical and more supportive HC could make it happen.”
Co-sign, Ken S. I wrote earlier this season that LD limiting Teague’s minutes is going to hurt him for All-Star consideration.
Just Joe
December 29th, 2012
7:59 am
Steph Curry – 4 yrs $44M
Jrue Holiday – 4 yrs $44M
Ty Lawson – 4 yrs $48M
The market has been set. Next to be paid, Jeff Teague and Brandon Jennings.
Great game by Teague. That’s what I want to see out of him. As constructed, we need Teague to be one of our top scoring options every night. 19 shot attempts last night (not counting fouls). Averages under 12 attempts for the year. A week ago against Philly, he took 4 shots all game.
Even with the 19 attempts, he still managed 8 assists, which keeps his teammates involved.
Just Joe
December 29th, 2012
8:08 am
Just to get some of you fired up though:
Kyle Lowry last night in 28 minutes….17 points on 7 shots, 3 rebounds, 8 assists, 2 blocks, 1 steal, no turnovers, and was a perfect 6-6 at the free throw line.
Duluth Joe
December 29th, 2012
8:17 am
What a pleasure to watch Teague play the way he is capable of. Games like last night are why people need to be patient with Teague. He has only played regularly for two years. NBA speed is different than College, and just like it slowed down for Josh, it is now slowing down for Teague.
Sure Teague scored 27 points and that is great. But it was his passing (several times driving inside and attacking) and then dishing out that stood out to me. Also that one time he attacked and probed and did a reverse layup, reminded me of how some say he may be like Tony Parker.
As for Josh, if you didn’t see his defense, it is hard to defend his performance. His shooting and shot selection were horrible. But his defense was textbook. Josh is an elite defender. One of few in the league. One block was where he defended his man one on one at the perimeter. His man tried to take him on, getting closer and closer to basket, and then tried a layup, and then Josh blocked. Just perfect defensive patience. Another couple times, it was his defense vs. Zeller. After Zeller forced an offensive charge on Josh, Josh did the same to him the next time up. And then another time, he batted the ball three times from Zeller, before he forced a turnover.
Larry Drew is not going anywhere if he can keep this up. Give the man a multi-year contract and then see if he will develop his rookies or not. He still has work to do on his rotations (Tolliver played well but I am not buying Tolliver over Ivan) and getting on the referees part. But now he has outlasted Avery Johnson! Wonder if he’ll outlast D. Casey in Toronto
Just Joe
December 29th, 2012
8:20 am
Pacers are the best defensive team in the league. They hold their opponents to a league-best 41% FG% and 89.9 points per game. They defend the 3-pt line (again, league-best 30% allowed). They rebound (12 offensive rebounds per game).
They are however, a pitiful offensive team. They don’t shoot well at all (not even free throws).
Hawks need to go with the big lineup and grind out a win tonight.
doc
December 29th, 2012
8:24 am
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
7:09 am
Josh had 5 blocks. So theoretically, he wiped away potentially up to 15 points…Impact playa? Yes..
See he can contribute in other ways…
on yhe othr hand if we dont control any of thise blocks theiretically they csn score 15 or more on spite of them slimj
bad statistical inference there slimj. too many hokes in your theory so you have to look a little deeper than that. sounds like you took bankers statustics eh high sider? heh heh
ok off to the bank.
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:26 am
Give Al credit. His game looks awkward at times but he shows up to work. Another double-double..
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:29 am
doc, guess I was reachin for straws? Sorta like Sautee and his small charge sample? LMBO!!!!!
Slimjr
December 29th, 2012
8:35 am
Straws, Straws, Straws….
Ken Strickland
December 29th, 2012
8:59 am
I want all of you HORFORD HATERS to take a look at this comparison between AHorford and TChandler.
AHORFORD/TCHANDLER
PPG 15.7/12.9, RPG 9.8/10.2, APG 3.2/.8, SPG .77/.8, BPG 1.04/.93, FPG 2.0/3.1, TPG 1.7/1.2
Based on these stats, and what you’ve been saying about Horford not being a good center, especially on the DEF end of the court, it looks like last yrs DEF POY has suddenly become both a DEF and OFF liability.
For all
taudawg
December 29th, 2012
9:16 am
I can’t even watch the games with Josh Smith playing. The Hawks play fast and pass well, except Josh Smith. He is the most overrated player since Joe Johnson. He hogs the ball, forces terrible shots and makes terrible decisions. I honestly feel the team would be better without him. The problem is that no one will trade for him because his basketball IQ is so low, he would not be able to adapt to a new system. I cannot watch the games, I just read about them afterward.
I just don’t get the Josh Smith love fest. No legitimate basketball IQ. He has a lot of talent, but not the brains. Frustrating to watch.
keith
December 29th, 2012
9:25 am
taudawg
December 29th, 2012
9:16 am
Well Said My Friend……Well Said……
keith
December 29th, 2012
9:30 am
OVERPAID BIGS!!!!
I don’t care what the market is! If you owned the Atlanta Hawks, would you be willing to pay Josh Smith over 8 million per season??? He’s not worth the 12 million he is receiving now!!! Having said all that, neither is Al Horford worth close to 12 million….Horford’s next contract should be closer to 8 million per season…..
keith
December 29th, 2012
9:38 am
DWIGHT HOWARD COMES HOME……
Dwight Howard is the one “Superstar” we must get to move this franchise forward..Dwight does not look happy playing next to the “BALL HAWKING KNUCKLEHEAD KOBE BRYANT”…Dwight Howard, and only he, can bring an NBA Championship home to Atlanta!!!