Atlanta Hawks Blog – Page 50 – NBA Blog

Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew calls out team for playing soft

On the flight back to Atlanta, Hawks coach Larry Drew watched tape of his team getting pushed around in Game 1 of the playoffs.

”I couldn’t believe my eyes, to be perfectly honest,” Drew said Monday.

So, the normally upbeat Drew delivered a scathing message to his players: If they don’t get more passionate and a lot more physical, this series against the Indiana Pacers won’t be lasting very long.

”It becomes a little bit mind-boggling, particularly when you get to the playoffs,” he said. ”You’re going to come up with schemes and ways to defend things … but the last thing you think you need to come up with is any kind of motivating to get the guys to compete and play at a high level.”

The Pacers were quite the bullies in the opener of the best-of-seven series – and the visiting team barely pushed back. Atlanta was outrebounded 48-32. Indiana got to the foul line a staggering 34 times, compared to just 14 for the Hawks. The result was not all that surprising: a 107-90 rout that led to the scathing critique from Drew.

— Reported by Paul Newberry of the Associated Press

Melo score 40 vs Hawks, Knicks win 10th game in a row

Carmelo Anthony put on another scoring show, though he didn’t have to do it alone.

Anthony scored 40 points and the Knicks got key contributions from J.R. Smith and Raymond Felton during a 19-5 fourth-quarter run that sparked New York to its 10th straight victory, 95-82 over Atlanta on Wednesday night.

”Melo is smart enough to know that if he’s doubled, he’ll sacrifice the ball,” said Knicks coach Mike Woodson. ”And we’ve got enough shooters around him that are making big shots. That opens it up for him even more. And when he gets going like he did tonight, they’re not going to leave him alone very often.”

Anthony, who scored 50 in his last game at Miami, scored 26 in the first half. He commanded more defensive attention in the second half, which left opportunities for Smith, who scored 19, and Felton, who scored 14. Felton’s quickness to the basket resulted in three straight scores during a 12-2 streak that turned a tie game into an 84-74 Knicks lead that was never threatened…

Anthony made 17 of 27 from the field and was 5-for-6 at the line. He also had five rebounds and three assists, with only one turnover…

Atlanta lost the opportunity to move into a tie for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and wasted a 25-point effort by Kyle Korver, who came up two points short of his season high.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Hawks center Zaza Pachulia out six months after surgery

Atlanta Hawks forward/center Zaza Pachulia had surgery today to repair his sore right Achilles at Mercy Hospital in Charlotte, NC. The surgery was performed by surgeon Dr. Robert Anderson of OrthoCarolina with Hawks Team Physician Dr. Michael Bernot of Peachtree Orthopaedic Clinic attending.

Pachulia will now undergo a period of rest, treatment and rehabilitation. The expected recovery time is approximately six months and his status will be updated as appropriate throughout his recovery.

Hawks hand Cavaliers ninth straight loss

Devin Harris scored a season-high 25 points and Josh Smith nearly added a triple-double Monday night as the Atlanta Hawks beat the Cleveland Cavaliers 102-94 to improve their chances of securing home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Smith had 18 points, 14 rebounds and eight assists before a sparse crowd in Philips Arena to help the Hawks (42-33) pull within one game of Brooklyn (42-31) for fourth place in the Eastern Conference.

Reserve Marreese Speights scored 14 of his 22 in the final quarter, but the Cavs (22-51) did not seriously threaten after pulling within 58-56 early in the third period.

Shaun Livingston, starting with Kyrie Irving not playing in the second night of a back-to-back, had 14 points and six assists in Cleveland’s ninth straight loss.

Harris, who scored 13 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s win over the visiting Magic, picked up where he left off. He scored Atlanta’s first seven points and had 11 in the first quarter as the Hawks built a 25-19 lead…

Al Horford returned to start at center for Atlanta after missing two games with a stomach illness. He had 16 points and six rebounds before fouling out in the fourth quarter.

— Reported by Matt Winkeljohn of the Associated Press

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