Crawford sparks Hawks in rout of Bulls

By Bud L. Ellis

When the Atlanta Hawks acquired Jamal Crawford during the summer, they knew bringing in the scorer would bolster the bench.

And while his first 20 games in an Atlanta uniform have been solid, Crawford unleashed his best game of the season Wednesday night, helping the Hawks roll to their biggest win of the season.

Boosted by a season-high 29 points from Crawford, the Hawks raced past Chicago 118-83 Wednesday at Philips Arena.

Josh Smith scored 18 points, and Maurice Evans came off the bench to score 18 as well for the Hawks, who improved to 15-6 on the season and stayed two games behind Orlando in the Southeast Division.

Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams each scored 12 points for Atlanta, which got scoring from every player on the roster. The Hawks broke it open in the middle quarters, outscoring the Bulls 65-36 to turn a two-point lead after one quarter to a 31-point advantage.

Crawford led the way, hitting on 10-of-16 field-goal attempts, including four from 3-point range, and all five of his free-throw attempts. He added four assists, a rebound and a steal in 34 minutes.

The Hawks travel to Toronto to face the Raptors on Friday.

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Thursday, December 10, 2009 at 9:59 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Bulls, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Maurice Evans, Philips Arena, Toronto Raptors

Hawks continue stellar preseason play

By Bud L. Ellis

Riding the strength of a 71-point first half, the Atlanta Hawks improved to 3-1 in preseason NBA action Wednesday night, downing Memphis 111-96 in Memphis.

Maurice Evans returned to the lineup and shined bright for Atlanta, scoring a team-high 27 points on 8-of-10 shooting. Evans, a key cog off the bench for the Hawks last season, hit three 3-pointers and drained 8-of-9 from the free-throw line in 26 minutes.

Al Horford added 14 points and five rebounds for the Hawks. First-round draft pick Jeff Teague continued his impressive preseason with 13 points and four assists.

The Hawks shot 52 percent from the floor and used strong defense to build a 20-point halftime lead. Memphis pulled within 89-77 after three quarters, but the Hawks had too much down the stretch.

Atlanta plays host to Washington on Monday at Philips Arena, then closes out the preseason with a two-game Florida road swing. The Hawks play the Heat next Thursday in Jacksonville, then take on Orlando next Friday in advance of the Oct. 28 season opener at home against Indiana.

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Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 5:32 am by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Indiana Pacers, Jeff Teague, Maurice Evans, Memphis Grizzlies, Miami Heat, National Basketball Association, Orlando Magic, Philips Arena, Washington Wizards