HAWKS REPORT

> MASH UNIT: Saturday night’s Hawks-Rockets game at Philips Arena was highlighted more by who didn’t play than who did. The Hawks played without starting small forward Marvin Williams, who sat out the game with a left shoulder strain. The Rockets went without All-Star Tracy McGrady (left knee) as well as starting small forward Ron Artest (right ankle) and Shane Battier (left foot). Hawks coach Mike Woodson inserted Mo Evans into the starting lineup in place of Williams, whose status is listed as day-to-day. Williams said he is scheduled to get an MRI exam on his shoulder Monday and see how things progress from there. “I hurt it in practice, the last full practice we had [before the New Year],” Williams said before the game. “I wore a sleeve on it in the first half in [New] Jersey [Friday night] and then when I got up this morning I could barely lift my arm up, so I don’t know what the deal is.” The Hawks don’t play again until Wednesday’s home game against Orlando, giving the Hawks several days to figure out a plan if Williams has to miss more time.

> SECOND UNIT SHOWCASE: The injury to Williams, combined with the long minutes the regulars played in Friday’s overtime loss to New Jersey, opened the door for the Hawks to dig a little deeper into the bench. Not only did Flip Murray play 19 minutes in the first half Saturday, he scored 12 points on 4-for-8 shooting. Acie Law IV played nearly 10 minutes after playing just three minutes total in the Hawks’ previous six games; he scored four points and had two steals in his limited action. Solomon Jones also saw 4:17, while Zaza Pachulia’s usual backup minutes were curtailed by foul trouble.

> PERFECT, FOR STARTERS: Josh Smith’s night couldn’t have started much better. In fact, he was perfect. He made all five of his shots from the floor and all three of his free-throw attempts in his first 10 minutes. Smith finished the first half 8-for-9 from the floor and led the Hawks with 19 points as they shot 61 percent (22-for-36) before the break and led 54-46.