Resilient Hawks bounce back to upend Blazers

By Sekou Smith

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Portland – Jamal Crawford said it was a big game.

And he played like it, rescuing the Hawks from themselves and their usually frivolous ways on the road.

Crawford took control of things in the second quarter and then guided the Hawks down the stretch to a crucial 97-91 win over Portland at the Rose Garden, their first road win of the season and their first quality road win in seemingly forever.

With Joe Johnson, Al Horford, Marvin Williams and Mike Bibby laboring early and Josh Smith in early foul trouble, the Hawks (3-1) needed someone to take over with the Trail Blazers leading by as many as 12 points.

Crawford didn't hesitate to assert himself, attacking the Trail Blazers from the moment he set foot on the floor. He predicted as much before the game, when he was in the hallway outside of the Hawks' locker room trading handshakes with his good friend and fellow Seattle native, Trail Blazers All-Star guard Brandon Roy.

"This ought to be a great game," Crawford said before scorching the Trail Blazers for a game-high 27 points and seven assists, the last of which was a beautiful behind the back pass to Horford for a dunk on a fast break with 56 seconds left that put the Hawks up by six points. "They are a team that's a lot like us. They went to the playoffs last year and they were great at home, but they are still trying to figure out how to win the big games on the road.

"It's a maturity thing right now. It takes time and maturity to win these kinds of games. But if you want to join the elite teams in the league, and I think both of us do, we've got to take that next step and find ways to win away from home."

It helps having an assassin like Crawford and an anchor like Johnson, once he got on track in the second half – he finished with 19 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Suffocating defensive pressure doesn't hurt either, and the Hawks showed plenty of that in rebounding from that early double-digit deficit. Smith and Horford provided plenty of that. Smith finished with 12 points, seven rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks while Horford chipped in with 11 points and 13 rebounds.

"I think he's the guy that got us over the hump," Johnson said. "He kept us close early and made big shots when we needed basket and that's what we're looking for from him, to put that ball in the hole."

The Hawks avoided the third quarter meltdown that doomed them in Los Angeles Sunday night. They took everything the Trail Blazers threw at them and didn’t flinch. Instead of allowing the home team to dictate pace to them, as they often do on the road, they pushed the pace and attacked on offense, forcing the Portland out of its comfort zone.

"We definitely have learned out lesson and having a guy like Jamal made the big difference," Horford said. "But the key was Joe stepping up his defense on Brandon Roy in the second half. He took that challenge after halftime and we all followed his lead on that end of the floor and we took care of business."

Johnson heated up after struggling early, finishing the quarter with 10 of the Hawks' 25 points on 5-for-6 shooting from the floor. The Trail Blazers needed two huge 3-pointers from Martell Webster to keep the Hawks' lead from growing beyond the 72-69 lead they took into the fourth quarter.

Crawford rescued the Hawks from a dismal early shooting effort in the first half. He scored 17 points and helped the Hawks stay within striking distance, 48-47, at halftime. He outscored four of the Hawks' five starters by three points – Smith picked up two early fouls and played just 12 minutes in the first half but still managed to make four of his field goals and had eight points.

"We proved it tonight that when we play hard and we play together we're going to deal with anybody in the league," Smith said. "Jamal had a hell of a game. He can lead the league in scoring off the bench if we do it right. I don't think there's any doubt he's got to be the favorite to be sixth-man of the year."

Johnson, Horford, Williams and Bibby combined to make just five of their 22 shots from the floor. Johnson was a miserable 1-for-8 from the floor and 0-for-3 from deep. Crawford, on the other hand, attacked the Blazers inside and out. He was 2-for-3 from beyond the 3-point line and a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. He provided the ideal offensive spark for a Hawks team that seemed content with letting the Blazers dictate a pace that favored their towering frontline.

And the Trail Blazers used every bit of their length to their advantage in the first half. Roy and LaMarcus Aldridge scored 14 points each to lead the Blazers, who led by as 12 points before the Hawks clawed their way back into the game behind Crawford.

Hawks coach Mike Woodson lauded his team's overall effort and their willingness to step up and defend in the second half when it became clear that the game was not going to turn into a shootout.

"It was one of those games where we just had to grind," Woodson said. "Things didn’t go our way early. But trying to get a quality win against a top notch team on the road is what's important. Our defense really picked up in the third and fourth quarter. And Jamal was huge. He's a shot-maker. We haven’t had a big time guy like that off the bench that make things happen the way he did."