Hawks wake up at the finish, trim Clippers

By Bud L. Ellis

It took more than three quarters for the Atlanta Hawks to wake up Wednesday night at Philips Arena.

But when the lethargic Hawks finally shook off the malaise that caused substantial booing from the home fans and plenty of easy baskets for the L.A. Clippers, Atlanta hit its stride just in the nick of time.

Down by 13 in the third quarter and trailing by nine with eight minutes, left, the Hawks outsprinted the Clippers at the finish for a 103-97 victory.

Atlanta trails Orlando by 1 ½ games in the Southeast Division, and sits in fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford shouldered the scoring load for the Hawks once again. Johnson led the way with 34 points, and Crawford came off the bench to add 22. A 12-point spurt in a 90-second span late in the third quarter was highlighted by Crawford’s fifth four-point play of the season, the 24th of his career to tie Reggie Miller’s NBA record.

Atlanta got 10 rebounds each from Al Horford (16 points), Josh Smith (15 points) and Marvin Williams (10 points). The Hawks play host to Chicago Friday at Philips Arena.

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Thursday, February 4, 2010 at 8:59 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, L.A. Clippers, Marvin Williams, National Basketball Association, Orlando Magic, Philips Arena

Hawks look to slow Thunder before returning home

By Bud L. Ellis

Knotted in a tight race for second place in the Eastern Conference, the Atlanta Hawks seek a little payback when they travel to Oklahoma City on Tuesday.

The Hawks, locked in a battle with Orlando and Boston for second in the East, lost to the resurgent Thunder on Martin Luther King Jr. Day in Atlanta, Kevin Durant going for 29 points in that game.

Durant leads the NBA in scoring the past month, and the Thunder are five games over .500 on the season and tied with New Orleans for the final playoff spot in the West. The Hawks, meanwhile, sit third in the East, one game behind Orlando and ½ game up on fourth-place Boston.

After Tuesday, the Hawks return home for three of their next five, with home games Wednesday against the L.A. Clippers, Friday against Chicago, and next Wednesday against Miami. Atlanta travels to Washington Saturday and Memphis next Tuesday.

After playing host to Miami, the Hawks hit the road for a four-game, six-day Western road swing.

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Tuesday, February 2, 2010 at 6:52 am by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Kevin Durant, L.A. Clippers, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, National Basketball Association, New Orleans Hornets, Oklahoma City Thunder, Orlando Magic, Washington Wizards