Hawks’ streak snapped with loss at New Orleans

By Bud L. Ellis

You knew it couldn’t last forever, this streak of improbable and galvanizing victories by the Atlanta Hawks.

The story of the year in the NBA to this point, the Hawks saw their seven-game winning streak halted Saturday night in a 96-88 loss at New Orleans.

For the Hawks (11-3), the difference came from beyond the 3-point arc. Atlanta hit just 4-of-22 from 3-point range (18.2 percent), while the Hornets knocked down 12 of their 17 3-point tries.

And still, Atlanta had a chance in the final minute to pull within five after trailing by 14 with nine minutes to play. But the Hawks, down seven after a Marvin Williams layup and a New Orleans turnover, couldn’t get any closer.

Jamal Crawford led Atlanta with 20 points off the bench. Williams scored 17, and Josh Smith and Joe Johnson added 14 points each. Both Smith (10 rebounds) and Al Horford (10 points, 11 rebounds) posted double-doubles.

Crawford played 39 minutes, coming in early after Atlanta loss starting point guard Mike Bibby to an ankle injury. Bibby played just five minutes.

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Sunday, November 22, 2009 at 11:25 am by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets