Hawks’ skid hits three as Lakers keep winning

By Bud L. Ellis

The recent trends continued Tuesday night at Philips Arena for the Atlanta Hawks and Los Angeles Lakers, and that wasn’t good news for Hawks’ fans.

The Lakers made it eight victories in a row, running out to a big lead and cruising to a 101-87 victory over Atlanta, the Hawks’ third consecutive defeat. ( Read More…)

Tuesday, March 8, 2011 at 10:01 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Andrew Bynum, Atlanta Hawks news, Atlanta Hawks schedule, Atlanta Hawks tickets, Chicago Bulls, Dallas Mavericks, Damien Wilkins, Derek Fisher, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Kirk Hinrich, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat, National Basketball Association, New York Knicks, Orlando Magic, Pau Gasol, Philips Arena, San Antonio Spurs

Hawks fall apart at home, lose to Knicks

By Bud L. Ellis

Great teams don’t lose games at home like this. Great teams don’t lose to 4-15 teams on their home floor after running out to an 11-0 lead.

Maybe the Atlanta Hawks aren’t as great as we thought they were. Or maybe it was just a bad night.

Either way, Friday’s 114-107 loss to woeful New York at Philips Arena underscores the dangers any team faces on any given night.

Atlanta seemed to fall apart after Josh Smith was ejected in the second quarter. By then, the Knicks had stormed back from that early deficit, thanks in part to red-hot shooting that resulted in New York finishing the night shooting 57 percent from the floor.

The Hawks led 84-83 entering the fourth quarter, but the Knicks took total control from there, outscoring Atlanta 31-23 during the final 12 minutes.

Joe Johnson shouldered the offensive load, scoring 29 points to lead the Hawks on 12-of-24 shooting. Marvin Williams added 20, Al Horford scored 17 and pulled down 14 rebounds, and Jamal Crawford came off the bench to score 12.

Atlanta plays tonight at Dallas.

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Saturday, December 5, 2009 at 11:26 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Dallas Mavericks, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Marvin Williams, National Basketball Association, New York Knicks

Hawks rediscover offensive output, blast Raptors

By Bud L. Ellis

It looks like the Atlanta Hawks have rediscovered their offensive mo-jo.

Mired in a slump on the offensive end during a 1-3 stretch, the Hawks busted out in a big way Wednesday night at Philips Arena. Nine Atlanta players scored in double figures as the Hawks ripped the Toronto Raptors 146-115, matching the highest offensive output in the NBA so far this season.

Al Horford led the assault with 24 points on 10-of-12 shooting, but he had company … lots of company. Josh Smith and Jamal Crawford scored 16 points each. Marvin Williams added 14. Rookie Jeff Teague scored 13. Joe Smith, Mike Bibby and Joe Johnson added 12 points each, and Zaza Pachulia scored 11.

The Hawks hit 59 percent of their shots from the floor, totally blowing away the overmatched Raptors. Atlanta led by 21 at halftime and by 30 after three quarters. Going into the fourth, the Hawks had 114 points, after scoring 88 points or fewer in the three losses preceding the rout.

Now 13-5 on the season, the Hawks take on New York on Friday.

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Thursday, December 3, 2009 at 9:38 pm by bud

Tags: Al Horford, Atlanta Hawks, Jamal Crawford, Jeff Teague, Joe Johnson, Joe Smith, Josh Smith, Marvin Williams, Mike Bibby, National Basketball Association, New York Knicks, Toronto Raptors, Zaza Pachulia

Hawks seek return to offensive output

By Bud L. Ellis

There’s no place like home for the holidays, and the Atlanta Hawks will enjoy plenty of home cooking the first three weeks of December.

Starting with Wednesday’s home contest against Toronto, the Hawks will play six of their next eight contests inside the (apologizes to Cubs’ fans everywhere for this) friendly confines of Philips Arena. The combined record of the opposition in the next eight: 53-88.

Not exactly a list of world-beaters, this upcoming stretch for the 12-5 Hawks. Toronto, which the Hawks face twice, is 7-12. There are home games against 0-17 New Jersey, 4-14 New York and 6-12 Memphis in the next three weeks.

Is it too much to ask the Hawks to go 6-2 during this stretch? If Atlanta could do that, the Hawks would be sitting at 18-7 after 25 games, a 59-win pace that would set the franchise record for victories in a single season.

But these Hawks have much more on their minds than accomplishments from November to April. After reaching the playoffs the past two seasons and winning a postseason series for the first time in a decade last spring, the Hawks really believe they can make a push deep into the Eastern Conference playoffs.

But wins – no matter the caliber of the opposition – all count just the same. And the next three weeks, the Hawks have a great chance to pile up some marks in the W column.

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Wednesday, December 2, 2009 at 9:39 pm by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Chicago Cubs, Memphis Grizzlies, New Jersey Nets, New York Knicks, Philips Arena, Toronto Raptors

Hawks return home, chew up Nuggets

By Bud L. Ellis

The easiest path to the playoffs is simple math:

Play .500 on the road, and dominate at home.

So far, the Atlanta Hawks are earning straight A’s in math class. Keep this up, and Atlanta will have a shot when it comes to exam time.

One night after a four-game in six-day road trip caught up to them in a road loss at Charlotte, Atlanta returned home and ripped through Denver, 125-100 Saturday night at Philips Arena.

Through seven games, consider the Hawks are 2-2 on the road, having downed Portland and Sacramento in between losses at the defending champion Lakers and at Charlotte. At home, the Hawks are perfect, moving to 3-0 at Philips with the win over Denver.

Good teams play even ball on the road, then do what they’re supposed to do at home. The Hawks had that missing zip, that missing step, when they stepped onto their home court against a Denver team that played deep into the playoffs last season.

Jamal Crawford again did his thing off the bench, Mr. Offense leading the way with 25 points. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith each popped in 22 points, as seven Hawks scored in double figures.

The Hawks put their even-steven road record on the line Wednesday with a trip to New York.

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Monday, November 9, 2009 at 8:19 am by bud

Tags: Atlanta Hawks, Charlotte Bobcats, Denver Nuggets, Jamal Crawford, Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, Los Angeles Lakers, New York Knicks, Philips Arena, Portland Trail Blazers, Sacramento Kings