Atlanta Hawks Proving Nobody Should Discount Them and Tuesday NBA Takeaways
Josh Smith tried to quiet his former team, but the Atlanta Hawks couldn’t be silenced.
Trailing by as many as 18 points, the Eastern Conference leaders erased that second-half deficit in a matter of minutes and emerged victorious, 104-96. By the final buzzer, Atlanta had outscored the James Harden-less Houston Rockets, 32-15, in the fourth quarter to capture its fifth straight win.
“Give them a lot of credit," Rockets shooting guard Jason Terry said, according to the Houston Chronicle's Jenny Dial Creech. "In the fourth quarter, they picked up the aggression, which we knew they would."
That sort of resiliency has helped the Hawks rack up wins at a pace like no team before them in franchise history, according to ESPN Stats & Info:
By virtue of its victory, Atlanta also became the first team to clinch a playoff spot, according to the team's official Twitter account:
As it turns out, Rockets general manager Daryl Morey wasn't thrilled with how things played out down the stretch:
Following the loss, Smith let his frustration loose by directing some harsh words toward the Hawks faithful.
"I mean, those fans are fickle, very fickle and bandwagoners," Smith said, according to ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz.
But regardless of the decibel level at Philips Arena, the Hawks' historic developments continue to fly under the radar.
In some sectors, the lack of enthusiasm can be attributed to the team's casual dominance. The Hawks have dismantled teams all season long, and at this stage, it's not surprising when they etch another signature win onto their resume.
In fact, Atlanta's average margin of victory (plus-6.3) ranks tops among all Eastern Conference competitors and No. 2 overall behind the Golden State Warriors. But alas, a balanced approach that consistently rips opponents in fundamental ways isn't going to induce mass hysteria.
However, it should continue to make the Hawks conference favorites.
As Tuesday night exemplified, Atlanta can't be discounted, despite momentary glimpses of fallibility. Even with threes falling at a sub-28 percent clip and Kyle Korver mustering five points on 2-of-6 shooting, Mike Budenholzer's squad still escaped with the win.
Whether it was Dennis Schroder (16 points, eight assists) stepping up off the bench, Jeff Teague (25 points, 9-of-11 from the line) forcing his way to the cup, Al Horford (18 points, eight rebounds, three blocks) calmly knocking down clutch baseline jumpers or Paul Millsap providing a metronomic foundation for the rest of the starting five to build upon, Atlanta had enough firepower to overcome early struggles.
While the Cleveland Cavaliers have seemingly surpassed the Hawks in the court of public opinion over the past six weeks, thanks to a blistering offense fueled by an eclectic mix of stars, Atlanta continues to represent the gold standard for night-to-night excellence.
Their franchise cornerstones may not sit on equal planes individually, but when it comes time to play for hardware, the Hawks will be armed with a polished collective unit that's mentally and physically dialed in.
And with a season-series victory at stake against the Cavaliers on Friday night, Atlanta will be able to make a definitive statement once and for all.
Around the Association
Cavs, LeBron Make History in Rout
Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson and now Ray Allen.
By dropping 27 points on 12-of-23 shooting in the Cleveland Cavaliers' 110-79 destruction of the Boston Celtics, LeBron James passed Allen and moved into 21st place on the NBA's all-time scoring list. The NBA's official Twitter account highlighted LeBron's achievement:
According to ESPN Stats & Info, it's not surprising James accomplished the feat against the Celtics—a team he's consistently tormented over the years:
Cleveland also made a bit of history by putting Boston in a gigantic hole en route to snapping its two-game losing streak, per ESPN Stats & Info:
All told, seven Cleveland players finished in double figures, including Kyrie Irving (18 points) and Kevin Love (12 points).
Conversely, the Celtics had two players (Brandon Bass and Isaiah Thomas) finish with at least 10 points, while the team shot 35.2 percent from the field and 25.0 percent from three.
According to The Boston Globe's Adam Himmelsbach, head coach Brad Stevens and point guard Isaiah Thomas didn't mince words regarding the team's poor play:
Washington Can't Down the Depleted Bulls
The Chicago Bulls were without Derrick Rose (knee), Jimmy Butler (elbow) and Taj Gibson (ankle), but the Washington Wizards still couldn't solve their Eastern Conference rivals in a 97-92 slugfest.
Pau Gasol (20 points), Aaron Brooks (22 points) and Nikola Mirotic (23 points) all picked up the slack, but Joakim Noah's all-around showing that included 14 points, 12 rebounds and five assists provided Chicago with a major lift.
Things got a tad heated in the third quarter when a scoreless Nene was slapped with a flagrant foul for hitting Noah with a pseudo-karate chop:
John Wall tallied 21 points and 11 dimes in the loss, but he also committed a game-high six turnovers as Washington dropped its eighth straight road game.
To make matters worse, swingman Otto Porter locked up a spot on the next edition of Shaqtin' A Fool in the process:
Charlotte's Still Hanging Around
The Charlotte Hornets would like to remind us all that they're still very much alive in the race for the Eastern Conference's No. 8 seed.
While the Indiana Pacers remain the sleeper du jour at the bottom of the postseason picture, Charlotte put on a show as it squeaked past the Los Angeles Lakers, 104-103.
First, Mo Williams hit an absurd fall-away shot, despite encountering contact in the lane. He went on to tie a season high with 13 assists while dropping 20 points.
Then, swingman Jeff Taylor contributed two of his three points in emphatic fashion:
Al Jefferson and Gerald Henderson each poured in a team-high 21 points, and Jefferson positively owned the glass by pulling down 16 boards.
Jeremy Lin deserves a bit of praise as well.
After averaging 10.2 points on 42.6 percent shooting prior to the All-Star break, Lin has scored at least 20 points in three of his last five games. Prior to Feb. 22, he had done so just twice.
He wound up leading L.A. with 23 points, eight assists and six boards in 30 minutes off the bench.
The Knicks Need a Hug
It wasn't a great day for the Atlantic Division.
Not only did the Celtics get lit up, but the New York Knicks were also positively obliterated by the Sacramento Kings, 124-86.
According to ESPN Stats & Info, those two historic franchises had never simultaneously lost by such massive margins before:
Just imagine if the Philadelphia 76ers had also suited up Tuesday night.
As he typically does, DeMarcus Cousins ravaged another inferior frontcourt to the tune of 22 points, 10 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks in 29 minutes.
You know, just another day at the office, as noted by ESPN Stats & Info:
Quote of the Night
The Denver Nuggets officially parted ways with head coach Brian Shaw on Tuesday afternoon, which the team announced, and one of his former players had some very pointed words for the team's front office.
Fond of his former assistant coach, Indiana Pacers power forward David West told Vigilant Sports' Scott Agness he believes Shaw didn't get a fair shake in the Rocky Mountains.
"That’s bulls--t, man,” West said, per Agness. "That’s bulls--t. [Denver's front office] never gave him a team. No grown-ups on the roster. You can’t win without grown-ups."
Can you blame him?
