Atlanta Hawks: Pistons 85, Hawks 84 (updated)
Vivlamore reporting.
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — The Hawks almost stole one.
The Hawks nearly erased a 19-point deficit against the Pistons but came up a point short in an 85-84 loss Friday night at the Palace at Auburn Hills.
The Hawks went on an 18-2 fourth-quarter run to pull within one point, 83-82, with 3:13 remaining. Kyle Korver and Lou Williams hit 3-pointers to cap the run. The Pistons got a basket from Rodney Stuckey and the Hawks had a couple costly turnovers in the final minutes including one with 42.9 seconds remaining and still trailed by three points.
Al Horford then hit what was first ruled a 3-pointer with 5.6 seconds remaining that would have tied the game at 85-85. After a video review, the basket was changed to a 2-pointer.
It wasn’t over.
The Pistons turned the ball over as Jeff Teague intercepted a pass and the Hawks called timeout with 4.1 seconds remaining. The Pistons fouled Horford with 3.1 seconds left on the inbounds play and a Williams shot at the buzzer hit the side of the backboard after being blocked by Andre Drummond.
“We had drawn up one play and they had a foul to give,” Williams said. “The actual play that we drew up they fouled us on it. After that, me and Al kind of made eye contact just to do a dribble handoff. They had been cheating on our dribble handoff all game and I faked it to the corner. Al felt like both guys were going to go with me but they actually did a good job defensively.
“No idea (if the final shot was blocked). I was just trying to get it toward the rim. I figured the clock was down at that point and I just wanted to get a shot toward that would count if it went in.”
It was the Hawks who lost a 22-point lead but ended up with a double-overtime win over the Pistons on Dec. 26 at Philips Arena.
The Pistons would nearly relinquish their big advantage.
“It’s tough to digest,” Horford said. “I’m proud of the guys for fighting. We could have easily have folded and focused on tomorrow but this is a different Hawks team. We are still learning. There are things we have to clean up. We didn’t play very well the first half. You can’t spot a team 19 points, especially on the road. It’s just too hard to recover. The fact that we were even in the game was amazing.”
Horford said he thought he was behind the 3-point line on the potential game-tying shot. Although it was not the designed play, Horford was trying to give Teague an option as the shot clock wound down.
The Hawks (20-11), third in the Eastern Conference, lost for the second time in seven games. They had erased a 14-point deficit for a win over the Pacers earlier this season.
Horford led the Hawks with 18 points and 15 rebounds. Josh Smith added 20 points, Williams had 17 and Korver 10.
The Hawks did not have a field goal from a bench player through three quarters, not getting a basket until Zaza Pachulia scored early in the fourth.
“It was day and night honestly,” Pachulia said of the difference between the first three and final quarter. “That’s how I felt at least. Both ends of the floor, we were more aggressive, doing a better job on the pick-and-roll and communicating. Offensively, we were moving the ball. The first half, maybe one pass and that was it. We weren’t running it. We weren’t hitting our spots. I don’t know if we were playing basketball. I didn’t feel right. That’s not us. The fourth quarter, that was beautiful.
The Pistons (13-22) won their fourth straight. They have won six of their past seven games with the only loss in the stretch coming against the Hawks. Austin Daye led the Pistons with 20 points, 16 coming in the second quarter. Greg Monroe added 18 points.
The Pistons enjoyed the 19-point lead in the third quarter. The Hawks managed to cut into the deficit. The trailed by 11 points, 66-55, after three straight 3-pointers.
“You dig yourselves a hole and it’s tough to overcome, particularly on the road,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said.
The Pistons led by as many as 18 points in the second quarter and held a 51-36 halftime advantage. After the Hawks had cut a 14-point deficit to nine points early in the quarter, the Pistons went on a 13-4 run to increase their lead.
The Hawks shot just 31.6 percent (6 of 19) in the second quarter. By intermission, Smith (14) and Horford (10) accounted for two-thirds of the Hawks’ offense.
In fact, the duo combined for all of the Hawks’ 20 first-quarter points. They combined to shoot 9 of 13 while the rest of the team went 0 of 7. Another Hawk didn’t score a point until a free throw by Ivan Johnson with 9:27 remaining in the second quarter.
Smith aggravated his right hip flexor and played only 12 minutes in the second half.
The Hawks return home to host the Celtics Saturday.
- Chris Vivlamore
LATEST NEWS
* Hawks wary of Pistons’ bench
* Williams to remain in starting lineup
* Behind the scenes photo gallery
* Drew named Eastern Conference Coach of the Month
* Drew looking for more minutes for Jenkins
* Drew concerned Hawks settling for 3-pointers in transition
* Harris, Morrow not on trip to Houston
* Williams wants to remain starter
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157 comments Add your comment
keith
January 5th, 2013
11:21 am
W.R. Terrell
January 5th, 2013
7:13 am
OUTSTANDING POST!!! SMOOVE-LESS MUST GO!!!!
DITTO!!!!!!!
Josh Smith is truly full of himself…Smoove could learn a lot from a “young player” like Blake Griffin…
The time has come, Atlanta Hawk Basketball fans, for SMOOVE-LESS to go…..
harpie
January 5th, 2013
11:42 am
There’s no sense expecting any better from the Hawks as long as they have an IDIOT for a coach! Get rid of Larry Drew and Josh ( “I’m an All -Star” ) Smith!
keith
January 5th, 2013
11:57 am
POTENTIAL OFF-SEASON TARGETS: D. Howard….Paul Milsap….Coery Brewer
Subtractions: Josh Smith….Devin Harris…DeShawn Stevenson
PROJECTED 2013-2014 STARTING LINE-UP:
PG-Lou Williams
SG-Kyle Korver
SF-Paul Milsap
PF-Al Horford
C–Al Jefferson
BE: John Jenkins…Ivan Johnson…Zaza Pachulia…Anthony Morrow…Mike Scott
2 1st round draft picks…
O'brien
January 5th, 2013
12:09 pm
Emir,
I don’t know who on the bench would keep cousins in check. But at the end of the year, that can be addressed (when LD and his assistant coaches contracts are up).
As for trade value, I have seen a writer for the bulls speculate that if they wanted cousins, kings would want Noah, so I think al for cousins and tyreke is a good start.
darrell starks
January 5th, 2013
12:44 pm
Keith, How is Josh holding the Hawks back ?
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!
keith
January 5th, 2013
12:47 pm
“AAU Basketball is “RUINING” these young Basketball players”
They do not understand how to play “Team Basketball.” When they get to College or the NBA, they have to learn the game “all over”… See Demarcus Cousins….Josh Smith…..Dwight Howard…ON AND ON!!!
keith
January 5th, 2013
12:51 pm
darrell starks
January 5th, 2013
12:44 pm
Keith, How is Josh holding the Hawks back ?
Have you watched the Hawks play when Josh Smith is on the bench??? He missed the entire Indiana game, and that was a “BLESSING IN DISGUISE.”
keith
January 5th, 2013
12:51 pm
darrell starks
January 5th, 2013
12:44 pm
Keith, How is Josh holding the Hawks back ?
Have you watched the Hawks play when Josh Smith is on the bench??? He missed the entire Indiana game, and that was a “BLESSING IN DISGUISE.”
keith
January 5th, 2013
12:51 pm
darrell starks
January 5th, 2013
12:44 pm
Keith, How is Josh holding the Hawks back ?
Have you watched the Hawks play when Josh Smith is on the bench??? He missed the entire Indiana game, and that was a “BLESSING IN DISGUISE.”
keith
January 5th, 2013
12:51 pm
darrell starks
January 5th, 2013
12:44 pm
Keith, How is Josh holding the Hawks back ?
Have you watched the Hawks play when Josh Smith is on the bench??? He missed the entire Indiana game, and that was a “BLESSING IN DISGUISE.”
darrell starks
January 5th, 2013
12:51 pm
Like i said right now you can’t argue with a coach that has a record.
20 wins and 11 loss, until the wheel fall off.
Zaza should be starting, with Lou coming off the bench.
Hawks have no one on this team that scramble in the paint beside Zaza, this why Hawks are dominated almost every game in the paint.
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!
darrell starks
January 5th, 2013
12:55 pm
Keith, How do you feel about D12 coming 2 Hawks ?
GO HAWKS!!!!!!!!!!!
keith
January 5th, 2013
12:59 pm
HE IS THE ALBATROSS….ARTIST FORMERLY KNOWN AS SMOOVE……
Feb. 21 — 2013 NBA Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET) We must “MOVE SMOOVE” by this deadline to “Maximize” the deal…..
This team can win and it will win without “All-Star SMOOVE”….
keith
January 5th, 2013
1:05 pm
darrell—–Would love to see Dwight in a Hawks uniform…I watched the Lakers play last night and concluded that they are slowly phasing him in as a solid number 2 option and phasing Pau Gasol out of town…Lakers clearly do not want Gasol anymore and Pau knows it…
I think D12 will sign a long term deal in Los Angeles…Very slim possibility he will come home…
keith
January 5th, 2013
1:14 pm
Joshua Smith, UCLA (transferring), 6-10, Jr. Rumor is he is transferring to Georgetown……
This guy is 6″10″ 300lbs…He will be a solid back-up center in the NBA…He is the only “Josh Smith” i hope to see on this Hawk roster going forward next year!!!
W.R. Terrell
January 5th, 2013
1:40 pm
Al is scoring double figures and somewhere around 9.9 rebounds a game. That’s pretty good for a PF playing out of position. ZaZa will be a double/double almost nightly if he starts. Ivan will play rugged defense, bang and score, he may not do it pretty but the job will get done. The rook JJ needs to start alongside JT. Folks need to get rid of the idea that the “Smoove” is a starter the HAWKS cannot do without. The more playing time Mike Scott gets the more fans will appreciate his game, it will be productive. Petro when healthy can defend the goal and grab a few rebounds and if he tosses a few points in then that’s a benefit. Tolliver will hustle and play with intensity, I never looked for anything more then that from him. DeShawns days are about over, there will be those games when he is somewhat productive but most will be a futile effort in shutting someone down. Lou gonna give you points, Anthony Morrow is going to give you points and Devin Harris will be a force when he plays but how long he plays is questionable. DF has trade possibilities but he is looking at package deals, probably the “Smoove” and Kyle. I know folks think Devin should be part of a package but he lives on the injury list and at 9 mill a season it is just not worth it.
Slimjr
January 5th, 2013
1:48 pm
“Al Horford and a first round pick for Tyreke Evans, Travis Outlaw, and DeMarcus Cousins. ”
OB, your freaking BRILLIANT! YOUR ADDRESSING MULITPLE PROBLEMS WITH ONE ROCK!
Awesome! Danny I hope your paying attention..
My belief is Cousins has not reached his full potential. Al Horford? Been there[College]..That is all……..
Buddy Grizzard
January 5th, 2013
1:54 pm
Shout out to GM-elect JaeEvolution in this piece for HawksHoop:
http://hawkshoop.com/evaluating-the-hawks-ahead-of-the-nbas-trade-deadline/
Slimjr
January 5th, 2013
1:56 pm
“terrible coaching. why was za za pachulia on the floor instead of josh smith.pachulia was one of the reason atlanta got behind.avery johnson was coach of the year but look what happened to him.its been these situations costing the hawks in big games” -cdog-
Hmmmm. Maybe Josh is really hurting out there? Zaza did affect that offensive rebounding barrage by Detroit in a positive way because of his size alone?
Buddy Grizzard
January 5th, 2013
2:05 pm
@DarrenWolfson
@BuddyGrizzard Told Magic don’t love D-Will enough to do a 1-for-1. If JJ-Red gets moved, 5-10 teams in mix. Adding a pick sweetens offer.
Slimjr
January 5th, 2013
2:06 pm
Beautifully written piece Buddy G!
I agree, Derrick Williams can help the Hawks at the 3…
Slimjr
January 5th, 2013
2:10 pm
OB, a front line of Josh, Cousins, and D12 would obliterate Miami and New York!
Buddy Grizzard
January 5th, 2013
2:13 pm
Thanks Slim! I don’t think D-Will is as good as we thought he was coming out of Zona. But I still think he’s better than what he’s been allowed to show in MIN. With the Hawks he would get oops from Josh all day.
keith
January 5th, 2013
2:17 pm
Derrick Williams = Marvin Williams…Same guy….
Hawks will play at the T-Wolves Tuesday 8 Jan..You will see up close why D. Williams is buried on the bench in Minnesota…This guy cannot beat out a 59 year old Andre Kirilenko, “for crying out loud.”
Derrick Williams was “OVER-DRAFTED” much like Marvin Williams, Sheldon Williams, and Josh Childress.
We would be better off with “SERENA WILLIAMS” as our starting small forward!!!
Slimjr
January 5th, 2013
2:20 pm
Hey keith, now I would pay to come watch her “cakes” on the court!!! LMAO!!!
lewis
January 5th, 2013
2:24 pm
josh makes other better no one else on the roster does end of story best player
Buddy Grizzard
January 5th, 2013
2:30 pm
keith, big difference between Derrick Williams and Marvin Williams. Marv was given starters minutes from day 1. They were always putting him out there so that he could get enough shots up to have a scoring average that justified his draft position and didn’t make the Hawks look stupid.
Derrick Williams is averaging 8 points and 4 rebounds in SEVENTEEN MINUTES. Hey High-Sider… how does that figure out per 36? Haha!
Joe D
January 5th, 2013
2:44 pm
Keith,
How about the Kings SF James Johnson for Petro (expiring 3 mil) and Morrow (expiring 4 mil). The Hawks get a natural SF who can score, defend, and rebound as complimentary piece. The Kings get additional scoring and free money for this summer FA market.
Starting lineup
AL
Josh
James Johnson
KK
Teague
Sixth man – Lou
Ivan
Harris
ZaZa
Ga Hawks
keith
January 5th, 2013
2:46 pm
Buddy ….I agree that he has not received equal playing time, however, when he was on the court he did not pass the “eyeball test”. He looked slow and awkward…He looked deliberate..He looked more like Anthony Tolliver to me…
He is too small to guard “4s” and too slow to guard “3s”, IMO…He is a player without a position, a tweener…
I think that the ” JAY BILASES” of the world, were wrong about him…..
SteveW
January 5th, 2013
3:05 pm
ZaZa calls out LD. LD is very sporadic with zaza’s minutes. Sund trades ZaZa to Houston for brad miller. Trade is nixed due a timing error. Brad miller blows out knee in April of that year, and never really plays again.
Hawks got luuuuucky on that one. I wonder if that still affects lds decision not to start on a regular basis?
SteveW
January 5th, 2013
3:14 pm
Woody buries JT. LD buries JT. Several dnp and junk time minutes. Bibby collapses. Instead of playing JT and having Bibby back him up, we trade jc2, a #18 pick (could’ve been Kenneth faried), mo Evans and Bibby for an oft injured Kirk Hinrich and Hilton terrible player Armstrong.
Teague starts while Hinrich gets over injury and does well. LD buries Teague again once Hinrich is healthy. Hinrich goes down again, and LD is forced to start teague against DRose in the second round of the playoffs. Teague becomes a national story. Before he can get buried again, crip aka Kirk Hinrich once again is injured. Teague hasn’t missed starting a game since. 10th among all PGs in assists, 11th in steals, and 19th in scoring.
If I’m Teague or ZaZa, do I really trust LD is the guy I want to play for? Both FA’s after the season
Duluth Joe
January 5th, 2013
3:44 pm
“Teagues agressivness has dipped, because he is now sharing the ball with Lou and is beginning to defer to lou. ”
Teague shouldn’t defer to any one at this point of his career. At some point in time I could have bought that line in relation to Joe Johnson and possibly Kirk Hinrich. But he has been advertised as one of the pillars of this team. All the marketing material highlight Teague. The team has given Teague control at the point. It is on Teague to perform, not on any one else. He has not played well the last few games(either defensively or on offense), and it is up to him to control this team. It is up to him to tell Josh to move inside if Josh wants ball on the three point line.
I have seen Al point to Josh to get inside. Teague either does that and takes on the task of running this team, or he will remain a player that shines for a few games, and then goes back into a shell again. He has not played well and Hawks with little margin for error are now either winning close or losing.
He is the point guard and has to take it on. He should not defer to any one any more.
SteveW
January 5th, 2013
3:44 pm
Kg is 3rd in votes for forwards in the east. If that hold, far less likely we get al and josh in the asg. maybe 1, probably not both
Duluth Joe
January 5th, 2013
3:52 pm
Hawks are unbalanced. There is way too much pressure on Josh and Al. Either of them will have a bad rebounding game every so often, and then we see what happened against Detroit.
This is on Danny Ferry, not on Coach Drew.
If you put a team together with no real starting level center(trade Josh or Al for a center), and mostly shooting guards and no SF (Kyle Korver really acts like a shooting guard and Stevenson is also more of a defensive shooting guard), this team will struggle.
You can’t rebound with no center, two PFs, and shooting guards. At some point, Ferry must help or this season will continue to highlight the size disadvantage of Hawks, no matter how good the rest of the team plays.
In Ferry’s defense, he may be targeting next year to re-architect this team, but it sure is hard to witness the same weaknesses reappear game after game when the team is not that far off.
keith
January 5th, 2013
4:00 pm
Joe D
January 5th, 2013
2:44 pm
The last time I saw James Johnson, he appeared to be “FAT and Out of Shape.” I think he was an excellent College Basketball player at Wake Forrest. I have seen nothing else from him to this point.
Having said all that, he “WAS” clearly more athletic than Derrick “Scrub” Williams…
keith
January 5th, 2013
4:12 pm
” AL HORFORD FOR AL JEFFERSON” STRAIGHT UP!!!
Feb. 21 — 2013 NBA Trade Deadline (3 p.m. ET)
I hope that GM Danny would consider this move going forward…The Jazz get younger and quicker…We get bigger in the post!!!
ALSO, “HEINZ” WARD is a Scrub TV Analyst and needs to go back to “Dancing with the Stars.”
Grandad
January 5th, 2013
4:22 pm
keith :: Jan 5th, `13 @ 12:47 pm
“AAU Basketball is “RUINING” these young Basketball players”
Never have truer words been spoken;
Keith – the most intelligent words you have yet uttered
on this here blog.
Keith gets “le` vaunt du jour” for Newfound Respect !
keith
January 5th, 2013
4:31 pm
Grandad……Thank You…..I think.???
Grandad
January 5th, 2013
4:35 pm
Keith
Yes – compliment intended !
W.R. Terrell
January 5th, 2013
4:38 pm
Some of you folks actually want a head case as in D. Cousins and Josh Smith and you think that will bring the HAWKS a championship? Head case are head cases. Al is a good player Josh is a dumb player. Get off those damn highlight reels and think.
Grandad
January 5th, 2013
4:39 pm
Keith;
and you welcome sir.
AAU basketball makes me want to alternately cuss & puke !
I`m not skilled enough to do both simultaneously.
Grandad
January 5th, 2013
4:40 pm
* and you *[are] welcome sir.
Ken Strickland
January 5th, 2013
4:45 pm
In a recent gm where Horford garnered 3 rebounds, HORFORD HATERS made certain everyone knew about it. Now that Josh gets only 3 rebounds in a gm where we got dominanted on the boards, those same HORFORD HATERS are conveniently silent on the matter. Once again, STUPID IS AS STUPID DOES.
Loading up and depending on a bunch of 3pt shooters to cure all of our ills won’t compensate for a lack of size and rebounding. That’s especially true in gms when 1 of your primary rebounders isn’t rebounding.
LDrew’s done an excellent job of overcoming his bad roster decisions, player rotations, and our lack of size and height. But it’s all going to catchup to both he and the team as the season progresses. We can’t continue relying on 2 starters(Josh/AL)and 2 subs(Zaza/Ivan)to do all of the teams rebounding especially when 1 sub(Ivan)isn’t getting the mins he deserves.
keith
January 5th, 2013
5:03 pm
Ken Strickland
January 5th, 2013
4:45 pm
Well said Ken Strickland….well said…I actually think Coach Drew should start Ivan at the 3 tonight, and Bench Lou Williams. Move Kyle Korver over to the “2″ position.
PG-Teague
SG-Korver
SF-Ivan
PF-Horford
C-Zaza
And bring Joshs’ “punk Butt” off the Bench….Josh Smith is getting SUPERSTAR treatment by DREW and Smith is “undeserving!!!!
keith
January 5th, 2013
5:21 pm
I am not terribly “impressed” with Coach Larry Drew…I do think that the Hawks win a lot in spite of him…Numbers cannot be the only indicator of success of your Basketball team…let’s see what Coach Drews’ road record is at the all-star break???
The Hawks had a hard time against the “lowly Washington Wizards, i beleive we struggled twice this year with those scrubs….
Ken Strickland
January 5th, 2013
5:23 pm
WR TERRELL-You can’t make a blanket statement like that about all so called head cases. Our own IJohnson was a considered a head case and he’s turned out just fine. Also, the Piston became a dominant championship caliber team after they acquired a so called head case from usnamed RWallace.
The Celtics didn’t do too badly with him on their team either. In a lot of cases, so called head cases have issues due to having to play on teams without much structure, leadership, talent or positive history, like the Kings.
It can be especially difficult for them to deal with when they come from a program that’s stable structured program and system with a winning tradition. I’d certainly take a chance on Cousins, provided it wouldn’t cost too much and we had more of a take charge type of HC.
There’s no way LDrew could handle Cousins, since he has yet to reel in JSmith, although he’s done a helluva job with Ivan. With the Hawks, Cousins could actually end up seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, as far as potentially making it to the finals and winning an NBA championship.
Despite his other issues, he’s definnitely remained productive when he’s been on the court. I certainly wouldn’t want both he and Josh on the same team. Veteran players like Horford, Korver, LWilliams, Zaza, and even IJohnson, could provide him with a wealth of guidance and support. He and Zaza could do some serious damage in the middle, along with Horford and Ivan at PF.
Josh and AL are the players we have that would possibly interest the Kings enough for them to even think about a trade with us. Then there’s the salary matching issue. $12M or Horford and $13M for Josh vs $4M for Cousins.
We’d have to take back a lot of worthless and/or expiring contracts to make it work salary wise. I’m also certain they’d want at least 1 1st rd pick. In this case, I’d much rather take a chance on a very young and affordable head case with tons of talent and potential than a milder but far more expensive head case with a bad back who might be in decline.
SF Korver/Morrow(Stevenson)
PF Horford/Johnson/MScott/Tolliver
C Cousins/Zaza/Petro
SG LWilliams/Jenkins/Stevenson
PG Teague/DHarris
This would definitely be a bigger, taller, and more physical, as well as better, overall team than we are now.
W.R. Terrell
January 5th, 2013
5:27 pm
LD will not start Ivan with Al and ZaZa, he has some misguided loyalty to the “Smoove”, hence, get ready for an ole fashion whipping tonight because the Celtics will give the “Smoove” as many outside shots as he wants to launch. Remember LD talked with the :Smoove” last week and nothing has changed.
Duluth Joe
January 5th, 2013
5:39 pm
It seems Hawks struggle against teams with size (Detroit or Washington – no surprise), or teams that can score as well as them (Golden State and Houston). Yes we also struggle against Heat but that team has better talent and is as fast as Hawks and as good shooting from outside.
Hawks seem to do better against defensive teams with not much scoring punch (Pacers and Chicago).
Tonight chances are Hawks win. Hawks can score(most nights), and Celtics can’t(as well). The one thing we have to be ready for is Pierce. Don’t let him go crazy and this is a easy win for Hawks. And play Zaza on Kevin Garnett.
Slimjr
January 5th, 2013
5:43 pm
Hawks win tonight going away..
at least double digits..
Slimjr
January 5th, 2013
5:46 pm
The Kings would probably be more interested in trading Cousins for AL Horford since Al does not become a FA at the end of the season unlike Josh. Also AL is a 2x AllStar that can play the 4 and 5…