DEL.ICIO.USHawks roll to seventh win in row
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, March 19, 2009
If the Hawks’ mission was to win all seven games on their homestand in their quest to secure the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs, consider that mission accomplished.
They had to sweat out Thursday’s homestand finale against Dallas, winning 95-87 before a raucous crowd of 17,499.
Johnny Crawford / AJC
Josh Smith goes up to dunk over the Mavericks’ James Singleton. Smith scored 15 points.
Johnny Crawford / AJC
Al Horford slams in two of his 13 points. Horford was one of six Hawks in double figures.
The Hawks’ seven consecutive home victories bested the six in a row they won during an eight-game December homestand, a run that might have been seven if not for a close home loss to Boston Dec. 17.
Even more important, the Hawks secured their 41st win of the season to guarantee their first non-losing season since 1998-99.
“You couldn’t have asked for it to go any better,” Hawks captain and All-Star Joe Johnson said of the homestand. “We came out and fought hard the entire time. And that was the main thing, coming out and protecting home court. And I thought our defense is what put us over the hump.”
The Hawks held all seven opponents under 100 points and won by an average of 13 points. Doing that against the likes of Detroit, New Orleans, Utah, Portland and the Mavericks put an exclamation point on the success. The Hawks have Friday off before heading to Cleveland to face the top team in the league in a Saturday afternoon showdown.
“Give me at least an hour or so to enjoy this,” a smiling Josh Smith said after the game. “I want to relax first and think about Cleveland in a couple hours.”
Just as they did throughout this homestand, Johnson, Smith and Al Horford bailed out the Hawks, with a huge assist off the bench from Flip Murray.
Murray scored 19 points off the bench, including 14 in the first half when the Hawks took control of the game for good.
Johnson finished with 24 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Smith added 15 points, nine rebounds and two assists. And Horford had 13 points, eight rebounds, four blocks and three assists.
“It was a big win for us,” said Horford, whose tip-in late sealed the deal for the Hawks. “We had played a ton of games and fortunately there have been some off days for us to rest up in between games. We just needed to establish an early inside presence and once we got settled in the second quarter, I think we were good after that.”
Mike Bibby and Mo Evans added 10 points each for the Hawks, who finished the club’s first unbeaten homestand involving seven or more games since the 1978-79 season, when the Hawks went 8-for-8.
“It’s a long time coming for this team,” Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. “It’s a long road. And we still have a lot of work to do to continue to get to the playoffs and be effective. We are still trying to secure the fourth spot and have an opening-round [series] at home for our fans.”
If they treat the fans to the type of play they’ve seen the past week and a half, no one will be complaining.
Thursday night the Hawks erased an early nine-point deficit and led by as many as 17 before running on fumes to the finish. And this was against a Dallas team that has an identical 41-28 record like the Hawks.
“The Hawks have been playing good for the last two years,” Mavericks guard and former Hawks guard Jason Terry said. “Give their players and coaching staff a lot of credit. They have a lot of young, great talent. I look for them to go further in the playoffs than they did last year.”
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