Atlanta Hawks Look Unstoppable in the East and Other Friday NBA Takeaways
Another night, another outright evisceration by the Atlanta Hawks.
The Hawks went into the Air Canada Centre and taught the Toronto Raptors, one of the East's best during the first half of the 2014-15 NBA season and now with DeMar DeRozan back in tow, a thing or two (or three…or a gazillion) about what it means to really be elite.
Atlanta didn't need some insane scoring run on Friday to blow out Toronto, 110-89. Instead, the Hawks did what they've done ever since they took flight after Thanksgiving: They kept going and going and going and going, like a nest of sleeveless Energizer bunnies.
As it happens, it was against these Raptors that the Hawks last looked truly mortal. On Nov. 26, Toronto stopped into Atlanta for a 126-115 win, which turned out to be the finale of a six-game streak. Back then, the Raptors were the beasts of the East—a 13-2 juggernaut that shot 51.2 percent against the Hawks defense in a contest that put Toronto a full five games up on Atlanta in the standings.
Check the standings now, and you'll find the Hawks right where the Raptors used to be, five-and-a-half games ahead of the NBA's neighbors to the north. Their win in Toronto was their 11th in a row, their 24th in their last 26 outings overall and their 13th in 14 road games.
It was also, arguably, their most impressive result yet in what's been an unbelievable six weeks for the Hawks.
On one end, Atlanta torched Toronto's dithering defense for 60.9 percent shooting—the team's second-highest mark of the season—with its Spursian brand of ball movement. Of the Hawks' 42 makes, 30 were assisted.
Jeff Teague led the way in that department with nine dimes against a single turnover, to go along with 13 points, five rebounds and two steals. Al Horford, in his first action since tallying his first triple-double as a pro against the Philadelphia 76ers on Tuesday, added five assists and five boards of his own. Better yet, he didn't miss a single shot from the field (and shot 6-of-7 at the free-throw line), including this baseline jam over Amir Johnson and Jonas Valanciunas:
All of that added up to 22 points for Horford. He was so good, in fact, that even Raptors beat writers, like The Toronto Sun's Ryan Wolstat, couldn't help but be impressed:
Teague and Horford aside, the Hawks benefited from four other players (i.e. the three remaining starters and Kent Bazemore) scoring in double figures. Chief among that group was Paul Millsap, who finished his usual stat sheet-stuffing routine with 16 points, eight boards, four assists, three steals and two blocks.
Like Millsap, the Hawks, as a whole, got it done on both ends of the floor. They held the Raptors, the league's third-most efficient offense, to a season-low in scoring on 42.7 percent shooting. Take away DeRozan, who had nearly as good of a game (25 points on 11-of-18 shooting) against the Hawks as he did just before Atlanta's run began (27 points on 8-of-16 shooting), and Toronto's field-goal accuracy plummets to 37.5 percent.
The Hawks pestered the Raptors' typically sure-handed attack into 17 turnovers—four apiece from DeRozan and Amir Johnson. Toronto busted loose for 30 points in the third quarter, behind 13 from DeRozan, but couldn't keep Atlanta from racking up 33 points of its own in the period.
As fantastically well as the Hawks played, nothing about their romp in Toronto is all that new. Balance and ball movement have been hallmarks of the Hawks' offense since Mike Budenholzer left Gregg Popovich's staff in San Antonio for the top job in Atlanta in 2013. The defense has tightened into the fifth-stingiest in basketball this season, thanks in no small part to a team-wide ability to pester passing lanes and create havoc that's taken on a life of its own since late November.
"When we shoot it like that, and if we can take care of the ball—and then you go back to you have to be good on the other end too—there were a lot of opportunities for our guys to get good looks tonight," Budenholzer said after the game, via FOX Sports South's Cory McCartney.
All of which has fueled the Hawks' recent roll through and rise toward the top of the NBA. So long as Atlanta keeps making on-court dominance look so rote, there's no reason to believe this team doesn't belong right where its outstanding 32-8 record suggests it does: in the thick of the championship chase.
Around the Association
Jennings and Drummond Combine to Keep Pistons Firing
The Detroit Pistons have been pretty hot themselves, and have kept that flame lit long enough to drive home the notion that their resurgence is about much more than Josh Smith's absence.
Brandon Jennings, perhaps the biggest benefactor of Smith's ouster, poured in a game- and season-high 37 points to keep the Pistons level with the Indiana Pacers, who got six double-digit scoring efforts of their own. Jennings, though, wasn't able to seal the deal, missing a floater off the glass in the waning moments.
Fortunately for Jennings and the Pistons, Andre Drummond was in perfect position to save the day. He collected Jennings' miss—his 16th rebound of the game—and promptly put it back up for his 15th and 16th points—the final ones in a 98-96 win for the visiting Pistons—with 0.3 seconds left to play.
Thanks to its two young stars, Detroit, once 5-23, has won 10 of its last 12 games and now sits just two games back of what would be its first playoff berth since 2009.
Big 3 Spark OKC to Impressive W over Dubs
The Oklahoman's Darnell Mayberry had some harsh words for the Oklahoma City Thunder the morning after their 112-101 loss in Houston:
"They look like nothing more than glorified imposters, a group of guys living on reputation and past achievements.
"
Apparently, the Thunder got the message—and then some. They weathered a furious first-quarter flurry from the Golden State Warriors before fending off the NBA's best team, 127-115.
Kevin Durant racked up a game-high 36 points to go along with nine rebounds and four assists. Serge Ibaka tormented the Dubs' Andrew Bogut-less frontline for a season-high 27 points.
But it was Russell Westbrook (surprise, surprise) who stole the show with his monstrous triple-double: 17 points, 15 rebounds and 17 assists.
Oh, and one missed dunk that miraculously dropped through for two anyway.
Orlando Magic head coach Jacque Vaughn approves:
Kawhi Leonard Doesn't Skip a Beat for Spurs
You wouldn't have known Kawhi Leonard hadn't played in an NBA game in just over a month, due to a hand injury, based solely on what he did against the Portland Trail Blazers on Friday night. The reigning Finals MVP looked like he hadn't missed a minute, leading the San Antonio Spurs in scoring with 20 points during a breezy 110-96 home win over the Blazers.
Leonard was his usual shut-down self on the defensive end, too. He helped the Spurs hold Wesley Matthews and the slumping Nicolas Batum to a combined seven points on 3-of-11 shooting.
With Leonard back in the saddle, it's only a matter of time until the Spurs start piling up wins and climbing up the Western Conference standings as a result.
Brook Lopez Sets Aside Trade Rumors to Wallop Washington
One night, Brook Lopez is in the eye of a potential trade storm. The next, he's in the middle of the action during a landmark win for the Brooklyn Nets.
Such is the life of an All-Star big man on a team that, by all accounts, is looking to unload some of its expensive assets ahead of a sale.
According to Yahoo Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski, Lopez may well have been on his way to OKC by now had Brooklyn not balked at taking back Lance Stephenson in a three-team deal that would've involved the Charlotte Hornets. Instead, he was available off the bench for Nets coach Lionel Hollins to go toe-to-toe with the Washington Wizards' fantastic frontline.
Lopez shook off the speculation—and three first-quarter fouls—to score 26 points in just 23 minutes in a 102-80 trouncing of the East's No. 2 seed.
That may not prevent the Nets from moving Lopez before February's trade deadline, but for one night, at least, Brook was in control of his own fate.
Cavaliers Find Their Footing in L.A.
The Cleveland Cavaliers' two-day stint in Los Angeles wasn't as pretty as all the stars who showed up to watch them play the Lakers and Clippers, but it productive nonetheless.
And, in the Cavs' case, two of their three superstars shone bright in a 126-121 thriller against the Clippers. With Kevin Love sidelined by back spasms, LeBron James and Kyrie Irving stepped up their respective games in a big way, albeit with blemishes hither and thither.
James registered his third 30-plus-point game in three tries since returning from knee troubles. In the process of scoring his 32 points, James became the youngest player ever to reach the 24,000-point mark.
LeBron, though, was far from perfect. He fell just one turnover shy of a regrettable triple-double, albeit with seven assists sprinkled in.
Irving had four giveaways of his own, but more than made up for it with a game-high 37 points on just 18 field-goal attempts.
As for Love's replacement, Tristan Thompson tallied a season-best 24 points and 12 boards.
Josh Martin covers the NBA for Bleacher Report. Follow him on Twitter.
