Credit: Mark Bradley
Credit: Mark Bradley
Say this for the Atlanta Hawks: They don't stink often, but when they do, they reek to high heaven. They lost Friday to Toronto by 25 points -- the final was 105-80 -- after trailing by 35, and full credit to the Raptors. They were primed. They became the first team to beat the Hawks three times. (Toronto was also the first to do it twice.)
And now you ask: Should Hawks fans be concerned? And the answer is: Nah.
This was almost a set-up game. The Hawks had spent the All-Star break living the All-Star life, to which few of them were accustomed. They had eight days to lose the rhythm that had carried them to 19 consecutive victories and 35 of 37, and they didn't just lose it: They buried it at the bottom of the deepest ocean.
Speaking of oceans: As the saying goes, the Hawks couldn't throw the ball in one. They missed 59 of 88 shots, 30 of 38 3-pointers. (It was their worst shooting night of the season.) Kyle Korver, on pace to have one of the greatest shooting seasons ever, had one of the worst games -- and not only at shooting; he also had two egregious turnovers -- in the history of the sport. When last did you see an All-Star actually throw up his hands in self-disgust?
They also missed seven of 21 free throws, including a Paul Millsap air ball. Holy moley.
The third quarter was comic. The Hawks missed 16 of 19 shots, including all eight of their treys, and made nine turnovers, off which the Raptors scored half of their 28 points. Five Hawks shots were blocked. Five Toronto shots were, too. In one screwball stretch, the visitors had three layups blocked -- and still they stretched a four-point halftime lead to 19.
"They gave it to us good tonight," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said, and here we note that his team had done something similar in Toronto last month, winning 110-89 on Jan. 16. That loss sat poorly with the Raptors.
"They were really ready to play," Al Horford said. And his team? "Some of it has to be rust," he said. "We threw the ball all over the place."
Budenholzer: "I don't think we played with the energy and activity we've gotten accustomed to night after night."
When last the Hawks looked this awful, it was on the night after Christmas. They lost 107-77 here to Milwaukee after a two-day break. Then they won the next 19, going undefeated in January. That streak began, as fate would have it, in Milwaukee. And where do the Hawks play Sunday?
In Milwaukee. Just sayin'.
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