Hawks fall behind early in loss to Spurs

By Bud L. Ellis

The early hole was too deep to dig out of for the Atlanta Hawks Wednesday night.

Down 15 after one quarter, down 22 at the half, the Hawks tried to make a game of it in the final two quarters at San Antonio but ran out of steam and time, falling 105-90 to finish a two-stop Texas road swing at 1-1.

Two nights after displaying plenty of energy and punch in a victory at Houston, the Hawks lacked the same fire and determination. The loss, just the third in the past 11 games for Atlanta, keeps the Hawks behind Boston in third place in the Eastern Conference.

Boston comes to Philips Arena Friday night. The Hawks are 3-0 against the Celtics this season.

Wednesday, Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford shouldered the offensive load for Atlanta. Johnson went for 31 points on 15-of-26 shooting. Crawford added 25 points on 10-for-19 shooting, including three 3-pointers.

Josh Smith scored 14 and Marvin Williams added 10, but the Hawks shot 39 percent as a team. Smith pulled down 16 rebounds.

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Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 7:10 am by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Houston Rockets, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, National Basketball Association, Philips Arena, San Antonio Spurs

Hawks run past Bobcats, prepare for huge week

By Bud L. Ellis

When the Atlanta Hawks are running and gunning like they did in the first and third quarters Friday night, they just might soar all the way to June.

In perhaps two of their most dominant stretches of basketball of the season, Atlanta took Charlotte’s six-game winning streak and dispatched it in a 103-89 victory at Philips Arena that wasn’t anywhere near as close as indicated.

Were it not for a lull in the second quarter and another in the fourth, the Hawks might have won by 40. Seriously. They were that good, shooting 51 percent from the floor, getting five 3-pointers and a team-high 24 points from Jamal Crawford, five Hawks finished with four or more assists and Atlanta was a perfect 14-for-14 from the foul line.

Crawford hit on 8-of-12 field-goal attempts, and added five assists and two blocked shots. Al Horford added 23 points, nine rebounds and five assists. Joe Johnson finished with 19 points and seven assists. Josh Smith mixed several big-time dunks into his 14 points, adding eight rebounds, six assists and four steals. Marvin Williams also scored 14.

The Hawks now prepare for a huge week in which they will play at Houston, at San Antonio, home with Boston and at Orlando. The Hawks lead the Magic by ½ game in the Southeast Division, and trail the Celtics by ½ game for second place in the Eastern Conference.

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Saturday, January 23, 2010 at 11:47 am by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Charlotte Bobcats, Houston Rockets, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, National Basketball Association, Orlando Magic, Philips Arena, San Antonio Spurs

Bibby injury the first bump in Hawks’ road

By Bud L. Ellis

On an Atlanta radio show last week, an observer noted the impressive run of the Atlanta Hawks to the top of the NBA through the first three weeks of this young season.

But the caller brought up a great point, mentioning how everything had clicked just right for the high-flying Hawks. How would this team handle adversity?

The Hawks have hit their first roadblock of what’s been a nearly perfect start to their season, losing point guard Mike Bibby to a sprained left ankle injury early in Saturday’s loss at New Orleans.

Now it’s unfair to say the Hawks don’t lose if Bibby doesn’t get hurt. Atlanta was playing the second night of a back-to-back, the first one a gritty, hold-on-for-dear-life victory over Houston on Friday. The Hawks also were facing a New Orleans team that hadn’t lost since former coach Byron Scott was shown the door.

But now the Hawks face perhaps the task of taking the court without Bibby, the savvy veteran whose acquisition from Sacramento at the 2008 trade deadline fueled Atlanta’s return to the playoffs after a decade-long absence. In those playoffs, against behemoth Boston, Bibby took on the wrath of Celtics fans, a calculated move done to take the heat off his teammates, most of whom had never played in the postseason.

It worked. Atlanta pushed the eventual world champs to a Game 7, stunning the basketball world and giving the Hawks the confident push that resulted in a 47-win season in 2008-09 and a first-round victory over Miami last spring.

Without Bibby, the point duties fall to veteran Jamal Crawford and rookie Jeff Teague. For the former, it takes away from his role as scorer off the bench. For the later, its’ a chance to add to the impressive play we saw from him in preseason.

Either way, it would behoove the Hawks to get Bibby back and soon. After all, the next time the Hawks hit the floor is Thanksgiving night at Philips Arena, and the team Atlanta is tied with for first in the Eastern Conference, Orlando, is the opposition.

If Bibby can’t go Thursday, we’ll see just how well his teammates handle their first dose of adversity.

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Monday, November 23, 2009 at 10:54 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Byron Scott, Houston Rockets, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague, Miami Heat, Mike Bibby, New Orleans Hornets, Orlando Magic, Philips Arena

Smith dunk sends Hawks to seventh-straight victory

By Bud L. Ellis

Josh Smith is no stranger to living above the rim, having won an NBA Slam Dunk title en route to becoming one of the highest fliers in the league.

But in the waning seconds Friday night, in a game where the Atlanta Hawks looked ready to turn a seventh-straight victory into a difficult defeat, Smith came through with the biggest dunk of his career.

Slamming home Mike Bibby’s miss with 0.7 seconds left, Smith’s jam snapped a 103-103 tie, the Hawks earning a 105-103 win to push their winning streak to seven and their NBA-best record to 11-2.

It shouldn’t have come down to the final seconds. Atlanta led 102-92 on a Jamal Crawford 3-pointer with 2:07 left, but Houston rallied to tie the game on two Carl Landry free throws with five seconds left.

But great teams find a way to win, and everything we’ve seen from the Hawks so far this season leads one to believe this Atlanta squad indeed could be great.

Marvin Williams broke out of his early-season scoring slump in a big way, hitting 13-of-19 shots from the floor en route to a 29-point, nine-rebound performance.

Crawford hit three 3’s off the bench, finishing with 21. Joe Johnson added 19 and Al Horford scored 17.

Atlanta plays Saturday at New Orleans, looking to run its record 10 games above .500.

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Friday, November 20, 2009 at 10:42 pm by bud

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

Hawks keep running, gunning in win over Heat

By Bud L. Ellis

Skip Caray made his mark calling Braves baseball, but once upon a time he also broadcast some Atlanta Hawks games.

Watching the Hawks play lately brings to mind one of Skip’s famous quips, one he would utter sarcastically after the powerhouse Braves’ teams of the 1990s would polish off another opponent:

“Ho-hum … win, win, win.”

That’s what the Hawks keep doing, winning with impressive fashion en route to running out to an NBA-best 10-2 record. The latest chapter of Atlanta’s resurgent run came Wednesday night, when Joe Johnson scored 30 points and Josh Smith continued his maturation process in a 105-90 triumph over Miami at sold-out Philips Arena.

The Hawks are off to their best start in more than a decade, and have grabbed headlines and attention for their solid play. Wednesday was more of the same, Atlanta breaking open a close game in the second quarter with a withering 25-8 run to build a 17-point lead at halftime, 60-43.

Miami made a game of it in the second half, but the Hawks — as has been the case just about every time out this season — had too much for the opposition. Smith added 16 points with 14 rebounds and seven assists, and Al Horford chipped in a double-double of his own (16 points, 12 rebounds).

Johnson hit five 3-pointers in the win, while Smith and Horford each hit six shots from the floor. As it did throughout last season’s first-round playoff victory over Miami, the Hawks made life miserable for Dwyane Wade, holding the Heat superstar to just 15 points.

Win, win, win.

The Hawks, ranked No. 1 in several major media outlet power rankings this week, wrap up a four-game homestand Friday against Houston.

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Thursday, November 19, 2009 at 11:12 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Braves, Atlanta Hawks, Dwyane Wade, Houston Rockets, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Miami Heat, Philips Arena, Skip Caray