Atlanta Hawks Blog – Page 50 – NBA Blog

Hawks center Zaza Pachulia injured, out around six months

Atlanta Hawks forward/center Zaza Pachulia has elected to have surgery to repair his sore right Achilles. Pachulia will have surgery Wednesday, April 3rd, in Charlotte at Mercy Hospital. Dr. Robert Anderson of OrthoCarolina will perform the surgery and Hawks Team Physician Dr. Michael Bernot of Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic will accompany Zaza.

“After thoroughly reviewing the possible options with Zaza, we all felt this was the best decision to insure Zaza’s complete recovery so that he can be at 100 percent going forward. Zaza is a professional with a strong work ethic. The Hawks will continue to be completely supportive as he tackles the return to play process,” said President of Basketball Operations and General Manager Danny Ferry.

The expected recovery time following surgery is approximately six months.

Paul Pierce triple-double helps Celtics beat Hawks

The Boston Celtics, who have already had their share of key injuries, had a quick scare seconds into the second half when Paul Pierce fell to the floor hard and was down for a bit before limping to the bench.

After a timeout, the 35-year old captain shook off the slight injury to his left leg, headed back onto the court and went back to work on his third triple-double of the season.

Pierce had 20 points, 10 assists and 10 rebounds, and Jeff Green scored 27 points to carry the Celtics to a 118-107 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night…

Jason Terry was 5 of 7 on 3-pointers and finished with 24 points for Boston, which won its second straight following a five-game losing streak. Brandon Bass scored 13 and Shavlik Randolph grabbed a career-best 13 rebounds with nine points…

Josh Smith led the Hawks with 18 points but shot just 7 of 23 from the floor and 0 for 6 in the second half. Mike Scott scored 19 and Jeff Teague added 17 points and seven assists…

Hawks F/C Al Horford missed the game due to an illness. … Rivers said before the game that the timetable for F/C Kevin Garnett’s return remained the same. ”I think it’s still two weeks,” he said. ”I don’t think it’ll be any longer than that. But if it’s two and a half, I don’t want to you to call me a liar or anything like that.” Garnett missed his fourth straight with what the team called ”left ankle inflammation.” … Boston G Courtney Lee returned after missing three games with a sprained left ankle.

— Reported by Ken Powtak of the Associated Press

Atlanta Hawks clinch spot in NBA playoffs

The Atlanta Hawks weren’t expected to make it back to the playoffs after trading Joe Johnson and Marvin Williams last summer.

It must feel good to silence the doubters.

Al Horford scored 10 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter, Jeff Teague had 24 points and 13 assists and the Hawks clinched a playoff berth for the sixth straight season, beating the Toronto Raptors 107-88 on Wednesday night.

”I’m really proud of this bunch with what we accomplished tonight,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. ”There were a lot of people that counted us out at the start of the season and said we wouldn’t be in this position. With all the changes that we made, here we are.”

Teague was just as delighted.

”This is a group no one really gave a chance,” he said. ”For us to come together and be in the playoffs this year, it’s a lot of excitement.” …

Josh Smith scored 19 points for the Hawks, who used a 16-0 run midway through the fourth to win for the 13th time in their last 15 meetings with the Raptors…

Jonas Valanciunas scored 19 points, DeMar DeRozan had 14, Terrence Ross 13 and Alan Anderson 12 for the Raptors, who have lost four straight and 11 of 14.

— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press

Short-handed Pacers hold off Hawks 100-94

The Indiana Pacers built a team to withstand the perils of a long NBA season.

On Monday night, they showed why depth matters.

With Indiana playing without four key contributors because of injuries, Gerald Green scored 17 of his 19 points in the second half, including a game-saving 3-pointer in the final minute, to help the Pacers fend off Atlanta’s furious fourth-quarter rally for a 100-94 victory.

”I feel good about our depth,” coach Frank Vogel said. ”If a guy goes down, it won’t be the end of the world for us.”

He should.

The Pacers, who haven’t won a division title since 2003-04, maintained their grip on the Central Division race, extending their lead over second-place Chicago to five games with 11 left on Indiana’s schedule. The Pacers’ magic number is now seven and they’re back in the No. 2 slot in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the Knicks…

Already playing without swingman Danny Granger, who missed another game with patellar tendinosis in his left knee, and forward David West, who has now missed five straight games with a lower back sprain, the Pacers got even worse news about an hour before tip-off when Vogel announced point guard George Hill would sit out with a strained left groin and swingman Lance Stephenson, Granger’s replacement, would miss the game with a strained right hip flexor.

Suddenly, Green, D.J. Augustin and Tyler Hansbrough, who has been filling in for West, were all in the starting lineup. But the Pacers just rolled on…

”We have to play better and I think we have to look at some things, some lineups and things like that, but I think it’s unacceptable to be up 25 points or 22 points at the beginning of the fourth and let it get down to four,” said Hibbert, who had 17 points, 13 rebounds and three blocks. ”That’s just unacceptable.”

— Reported by Michael Marot of the Associated Press

Hawks guard Devin Harris misses game with foot injury

Devin Harris missed Monday’s game against the Pacers with a left foot injury.

Harris was hurt in the third quarter of Sunday’s victory over the Bucks and was unable to return after scoring 16 points. It marked the 14th game Harris missed this season with foot problems that have plagued him most of the season’s second half.

His status for Wednesday’s game against the Raptors in undetermined.

“He is still a little sore,” coach Larry Drew said. “We’ll see how he is (Tuesday).”

— Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Al Horford continues to do big things for Hawks

Horford played in only 11 regular-season games last season before a torn left pectoral muscle sidelined him. He returned May 6 for the final three games of the first-round playoff series loss to the Celtics. Horford said he is at near full strength from that injury and is completely over calf and hamstring issues that bothered him earlier this season.

The two-time All-Star is the Hawks’ leading scorer with 17.4 points per game, good for 23rd in the NBA. His 10.2 rebound average ranks ninth in the league and his 55.0 field-goal percentage ranks 11th.

“When you give him that top-of-the-key jump shot, he’s pretty accurate from there,” Bucks coach Jim Boylan said following Wednesday’s game. “He’s an All-Star player. That’s what All-Stars do, night in and night out. That’s why they’re All-Stars.”

Horford’s mid-range jumper has been especially effective this season. He has shot more than 44 percent from both 15-19 feet (119-of-268, 44.4 percent) and from 20-24 feet (26-of-59, 44.1 percent). That has become a valuable weapon for the Hawks as Horford, playing undersized at center, has drawn the opposition’s big men away from the basket.

— Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Hawks have chance to make up ground on Nets

At least one Hawks player is looking at Sunday’s key matchup against the Nets with an eye toward the playoffs.

DeShawn Stevenson said there is a something more at stake in the game.

“It means a lot because we might end up playing them (in the playoffs),” Stevenson said. “We don’t want to be down 3-1. That game is important.”

The Hawks have lost two of three meetings with the Nets this season, including a poor performance March 9 in a 93-80 loss at Philips Arena.

The Hawks (36-29) have the same record as the Bulls, who own the tiebreaker, for the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference. They are two games behind the fourth-place Nets (38-27). The Celtics, who played the Bobcats on Saturday, would make it a three-way tie with win.

— Reported by Chris Vivlamore of the Atlanta Journal Constitution

Hawks sign Shelvin Mack to second 10-day contract

The Atlanta Hawks have signed guard Shelvin Mack to a second 10-day contract, Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound point guard has appeared in five games for the Hawks, totaling eight points, four rebounds and three assists in 30 total minutes. In the Hawks’ win against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 13th, Mack scored seven points on 3-5 (.600) shooting and dished out two assists in 14 minutes.

Heat winning streak is now 19 straight games after beating Hawks

Standing at his locker after yet another victory, LeBron James finally acknowledged the obvious.

This winning streak is something for the Miami Heat to savor.

Dwyane Wade scored 23 points and on a night where the stat sheet would suggest a struggle, the Heat rolled once again, extending their winning streak to 19 games and leading wire-to-wire in beating the Atlanta Hawks 98-81 on Tuesday.

”Let’s be honest, guys,” James said. ”We’re not sitting here and saying this is not something special. This is an unbelievable streak that we’re on. We’re playing great basketball. We’re winning in different phases of the game, we’re playing different styles, we’ve won every game, on the road, at home, double-overtime games, end-of-regulation games, whatever the case may be.”

James scored 15 points and Chris Bosh and Mario Chalmers added 14 apiece for the Heat, who matched the fifth-longest streak in NBA history. They will try for their 20th straight win on Wednesday at Philadelphia, the start of a five-game trip.

Only three teams have won at least 20 consecutive games in the same season: the 1971-72 Los Angeles Lakers (33), the 2007-08 Houston Rockets (22) and the 1970-71 Milwaukee Bucks (20). The Washington Capitols also won 20 straight, spanning the end of the 1947-48 season and the start of the 1948-49 campaign.

”Ten is enough for me,” Bosh said. ”Twenty’s cool. I’d take it.”

Josh Smith scored 15 for the Hawks, who got 12 apiece from Al Horford and Jeff Teague.

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Hawks recall Mike Scott from D-League

The Atlanta Hawks have recalled rookie forward Mike Scott from the Bakersfield Jam, their NBA Development League affiliate, Hawks President of Basketball Operations/General Manager Danny Ferry announced today.

Scott was assigned on March 1st and started three games for the Jam, averaging 24.7 points, 11.3 rebounds and 1.7 assists in 37.3 minutes (.482 FG%, .909 FT%), recording at least 20 points and 10 rebounds in each contest. The three-game stretch was Scott’s second assignment to the Jam this season.

Scott, a second round pick (43rd overall) from Virginia in the 2012 NBA Draft, has seen action in 25 games for the Hawks this season, averaging 3.0 points and 2.1 rebounds in 7.5 minutes per game (.452 FG%, .750 FT%).

He will be available for tonight’s game against the 76ers.