The Hawks have a winning streak – albeit two games.
Jeff Teague sank a pair of free throws with 11.4 seconds left to give the Hawks a hard-fought 98-95 win over the Mavericks Wednesday night at American Airlines Center.
The Hawks (14-9) won their second straight, something they haven’t done since Nov. 6-7. They had alternated losses and wins the past 10 games. The Hawks won their fourth straight over the Mavericks.
With the victory Mike Budenholzer posted win number 112 to move out of tie with Harry Gallatin for ninth in all-time franchise wins.
The Mavericks (13-10) had a three-game winning streak snapped.
The Hawks travel to Oklahoma City to play the Thunder Thursday in the second of back-to-back games.
Here are the key players and five observations on the game:
Three key players
Paul Millsap: He finished with 20 points, including seven in the fourth quarter, and 11 rebounds.
Kent Bazemore: He hit a 3-pointer with 2:18 to play to give the Hawks the lead for good.
Zaza Pachulia: The former Hawks player had a double-double of 11 points and 17 rebounds.
Five observations
1. Late run
The Hawks used a 12-4 run late in the fourth quarter to erase a four-point deficit. Millsap scored the final points of the run to give the Hawks a 96-93 lead. Teague would seal the victory with his late free throws.
2. Mavericks go to the glass
The Mavericks stayed in the game on the strength of their offensive rebounding – especially in the third quarter. Despite coming into the game averaging an NBA-low 8.4 offensive rebounds a game, the Mavericks had 10 in the third quarter alone. Pachulia had four of them. Through the third quarter, Pachulia had six of the Mavs’ 14 offensive rebounds and the Hawks team had just five. In all, the Mavericks had 20 offensive boards.
3. Back-and-forth
The first half was a back-and-forth affair. The Hawks’ biggest lead was five points. The Mavericks’ biggest lead was four points. The first two quarters also featured 12 lead changes and was tied seven times. The game had 20 lead changes and was tied 11 times.
4. Guarding Dirk
The Hawks used several players to defend Dirk Nowitzki in an attempt to slow the Mavericks star. Millsap, Thabo Sefolosha and Al Horford all drew the assignment. Nowitzki was limited to seven points in the first half on 3 of 10 shooting, including 1 of 4 from 3-point range. He finished with 13 points on 6 of 20 shooting.
5. Splitter returns
After missing the past seven games with a sore right hip, reserve center Tiago Splitter returned to the Hawks’ rotation. He entered the game with 2:16 remaining in the first quarter. In total, Splitter played 12 minutes and finished with four points and three rebounds.
About the Author
