Atlanta Hawks Blog – Page 79 – NBA Blog

Hawks coach Woodson to enter final year of deal

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports: What looks like pressure to some people looks like an opportunity to Hawks coach Mike Woodson. That’s why he was undeterred Thursday after it became clear he’ll enter next season in the final year of his contract. “There’s always pressure, if you want to call it that,” Woodson said after a day filled with meetings with Hawks officials and ownership. “I don’t look at it as pressure because I’m not made like that. All these people talking about fire Woodson and all that stuff, it’s never entered my mind. I swear. “The chatter is what it is. But we’re not going to do anything but keep pushing ahead trying to take another step next year.” Neither Woodson nor general manager Rick Sund broached the subject of a contract extension for the coach when they met.

James scores 27 as Cavs win 84-74, sweep Hawks

The AP reports: LeBron James went with his Magic impression in the deciding game of another playoff sweep. While failing to match his offensive explosion in Game 3, the league’s MVP scored 27 points and got his teammates involved as the Cleveland Cavaliers finished off the Atlanta Hawks 84-74 Monday night to win the second-round series in four straight. Delonte West and Mo Williams showed Cleveland isn’t just a one-man squad, hitting huge shots down the stretch as the Cavaliers extended their NBA-record streak of double-digit playoff wins to eight in a row. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Anderson Varejao pounded the boards, leading the Cavaliers to another big rebounding edge… West scored 21 points, while Williams made four 3-pointers to account for his 12 points. Ilgauskas had 14 points and 10 rebounds, while Varejao seemed to get his hand on every miss, picking up seven of his 11 rebounds at the offensive end… Josh Smith led Atlanta with 26 points, but the Hawks were doomed by a miserable shooting night—23 of 73 from the field to finish at 31.5 percent. Joe Johnson added 18 points but made just 7 of 18 shots. Mike Bibby scored his only points on a 3-pointer in the final quarter. Flip Murray kept putting it up, but made only 4 of 15 for 14 points.

James scores 47, Cavaliers beat Hawks 97-82

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 47 points in his best game yet of these playoffs, leading the Cavaliers to the brink of their second straight postseason sweep with a 97-82 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Saturday night. Back home after two blowout losses in Cleveland, the Hawks put up their best fight of the series. It didn’t matter… The Hawks were only down 47-46 at the halftime, and they surged back into their first second-half lead of the series with a 13-0 run in the third quarter. But Zaza Pachulia foolishly got ejected for arguing a foul call—acting as though he might attack the officials—and Atlanta faded away down the stretch… Indeed, while James was a virtual one-man show, he kept his teammates involved by dishing out eight assists. If that wasn’t enough, he led Cleveland to a dominant performance on the boards, 46-23, with 12 rebounds—more than anyone else on the court… Joe Johnson, who didn’t decide until game time that he was healthy enough to play, led the Hawks with 21 points. Josh Smith added 18 and Flip Murray 17.

Hawks injury update for Game 3

The Cleveland Cavaliers lead the Atlanta Hawks two games to zero in their second round NBA playoffs series.

Game 3 is Saturday in Atlanta.

Unfortunately for the Hawks, injuries are striking at a very bad time.

The latest info, direct from the team, as of early Friday afternoon, is that both forward/center Al Horford (right ankle sprain) and forward Marvin Williams (right wrist sprain) practiced today and will be game-time decisions for Saturday.

Star shooting guard Joe Johnson, who suffered a right ankle sprain during Game 2 in Cleveland, will also be a game-time decision for Saturday.

LeBron, Cavs coast past Hawks 105-85

The AP reports: LeBron James scored 27 points, ending the first and second quarters with last-second baskets, and Mo Williams added 15 points as the untested Cavs overpowered the Atlanta Hawks 105-85 on Thursday night to open a 2-0 lead in their Eastern Conference semifinal. Now a perfect 6-0 in the postseason, the Cavaliers tied a league record by winning their sixth consecutive playoff game by double digits. The only other team to do it was the 2004 Indiana Pacers. Maurice Evans scored 16 points and Mike Bibby had 11 for the Hawks, who were missing center Al Horford and forward Marvin Williams because of injuries. If that wasn’t bad enough, leading scorer Joe Johnson rolled his right ankle in the third quarter and did not return… In his second game since being named MVP, James dropped a long 3-pointer in the final second of the first half as the Cavaliers opened a 24-point lead that swelled to 36 in the third.

Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.

Sasha Pavlovic has broken nose

The Cleveland Plain Dealer (Mary Schmitt Boyer) reports: Cleveland Cavaliers guard Sasha Pavlovic, who had seven points and three rebounds in his first extended minutes in this post-season, suffered a broken nose in Tuesday night’s 99-72 victory over the Atlanta Hawks in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinals at The Q.

The Plain Dealer report says he’ll keep playing, with a protective mask.

Cavaliers Rock Hawks 99-72 in Game 1

The AP reports: LeBron James dunked the first time he touched the ball and scored 34 points—22 in the first half—as the Cavaliers, who waited nine days between playoff games after a first-round sweep, shook off some early rust and pulled away for a 99-72 win over the Hawks in their Eastern Conference semifinal opener on Tuesday. Showing why he was voted the league’s best player in a landslide, James added 10 rebounds, three assists and four steals as the top-seeded Cavs won their fifth straight lopsided game in a postseason that has so far mirrored the best regular season in franchise history… Maurice Williams added 21 points for Cleveland, which became the first team since the 2004 Detroit Pistons to win each of its five playoff games by double figures. With the Cavs up by 21, James was pulled with 4:29 left—extra down time before Game 2 on Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena, where the Cavaliers are 42-2. Josh Smith scored 22 and Mike Bibby 19 for the Hawks, who needed seven games to get past Miami and are playing in the second round for the first time in 10 years. They weren’t happy with their start in this series, going 9-for-30 and scoring just 28 points after halftime.

Hawks rock Heat 91-78, advance to 2nd round

The AP reports: After a mostly disappointing series, Joe Johnson finally showed up when the Hawks needed him most, making six 3-pointers and scoring 27 points to lead Atlanta into the second round of the playoffs with a 91-78 victory over Dwyane Wade and the Heat in Game 7 Sunday. Atlanta got past the first round for the first time since 1999. Their reward? A matchup with LeBron James and the top-seeded Cavaliers, beginning Tuesday night in Cleveland… Johnson finished 6-of-8 from beyond the arc, leading the Hawks to the final blowout in a series that was totally devoid of any drama. Every game was decided by at least 10 points… The Hawks turned the contest into a laugher in the final quarter. Flip Murray hit a 3-pointer to give Atlanta its biggest lead, 85-66, and both teams cleared their benches in the closing minutes… Dwyane Wade scored 31 points but the majority of those came after the Hawks had already built a comfortable lead.

InsideHoops.com notes: The Heat scored just 18 points in the first quarter, 18 in the second, and 16 in the third. The Heat were also very quiet in the first and third quarters, but won the second quarter 29-18… Joe Johnson had 27 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 steals. Josh Smith (7-of-12) had 21 points and 9 rebounds. Flip Murray (just 4-of-14, 3-of-9 three-pointers) had 15 off the bench… In the loss, Wade shot 10-of-25 for his 31 points, but he had 4 assists with 4 turnovers. Michael Beasley had 17 with 7 rebounds off the bench. Udonis Haslem had 14 points and 13 rebounds. Barely any other Heat players did much of anything… The Heat committed 17 turnovers and only had 12 total assists… Heat starting point guard Mario Chalmers shot 1-of-6 and was awful. Heat starting center Joel Anthony in 22 minutes had 6 rebounds and little else. James Jones shot 1-of-5… Both team shot badly, but the Hawks nailed threes, the Heat did not.

Live fan discussion of this game took place in this forum topic.

Wade scores 41, Heat rock Hawks 98-72

The AP reports: Dwyane Wade scored 41 points, Michael Beasley busted out of a slump with 22 points and 15 rebounds, and the Heat stayed alive by routing the Atlanta Hawks 98-72 in Game 6 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Friday night. So a wild back-and-forth series—three routs for the Hawks, three routs for the Heat—will be decided Sunday in Atlanta… Mike Bibby scored all 20 of his points in the first half for Atlanta, which fell behind by 15 in the opening quarter, cut the deficit to nine by halftime, but never really challenged from there. Flip Murray and Joe Johnson added 13 apiece for the Hawks, who lost a first-round Game 7 last season against Boston… Hawks F Marvin Williams returned from a sprained right wrist. He played only 5 minutes, missing his lone shot. F Al Horford (sprained right ankle) warmed up but did not play.

Johnson scores 25, Hawks beat Heat 106-91

The AP reports: The Hawks kept up the theme of this matchup between division rivals—no game has been close—but there were several subplots after a night of hard fouls and staredowns left the Heat feeling as though Atlanta rubbed it in a little too much in a 106-91 victory Wednesday. Joe Johnson scored 25 points in his first big game of the series, which the Hawks now lead 3-2, and Flip Murray added 23 from a bench that has taken on an increasingly important role. They already were without one injured starter (Marvin Williams) and lost another when Al Horford hobbled off the court with a sprained right ankle… Wade scored 29 points but didn’t get going until the game had been decided. The NBA’s leading scorer already was bothered by back spasms, and he was feeling even worse after colliding with Josh Smith late in the first quarter and banging the back of his head on the court… The Hawks made 13-of-16 from the field in the second quarter, including their last 12 attempts, to push a 24-20 lead to a commanding 63-40 lead by halftime.