Perhaps it seems a stretch at times to label Mike Scott a “power” forward, but the Hawks might not be in position to tie the franchise record of 14 consecutive wins Wednesday against Indiana if he hadn’t played big among Detroit’s bigs Monday.
In tying his season high with 20 points on 9-of-15 shooting off the bench, the third-year pro rescued the Hawks from a rare offensive slog on the way to a 93-82 win over the Pistons.
In 21 minutes, he added five rebounds and two steals.
“My job is to come in and provide energy, play defense and make shots,” Scott said. “Just really spark the team.”
Monday, Scott was sparky around the basket and that’s not his usual forte.
At 6-feet-8 and about 237 pounds, he’s average-sized against many power forwards, and 40.5 percent of the shots he takes are 3-pointers. He scores 37.9 percent of his points from beyond the arc, connecting at a 38.2 percent clip (39-of-102) that trails only Kyle Korver (53.6) and Kent Bazemore (44.4).
The Virginia native is as much stretch as power.
Yet as Atlanta searched for rhythm against Detroit, he scored six of the Hawks’ first 10 points in the second quarter all from point-blank range and near Detroit pounder Greg Monroe (6-11, 255). In scoring eight straight points early in the fourth period, three tallies were at the rim.
He was moving with alacrity, and Monroe couldn’t keep up.
“His defense and his activity have maybe gone unnoticed,” said Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer. “Every time he shoots it, he’s a little bit like Kyle [Korver] … we think he’s going to make it.”
There’s little question that he’s an important part of what’s going on, and the Hawks’ front office had this in mind last summer in signing the restricted free agent a three-year, $10 million contract.
“This is what Mike Scott does,” Korver said. “He’s behind Paul [Millsap], and that’s tough. Sometimes, you don’t get a lot of minutes but … we needed a spark and someone to score because a lot of us were off. Mike gave us that lift.
“He’s done that numerous times, and there’s a reason why they gave him the nice contract to come back.”
Scott played in 40 games as a rookie after being drafted in the second round, starting once, and averaging 4.6 points and 2.8 rebounds. He missed his only 3-pointer. Last season, he made 31 percent of his 3s while averaging 9.6 points and 3.6 rebounds in 80 games, including six starts.
Averaging 7.7 and 2.6 this season and shooting 45.6 percent overall, Scott’s first points Monday came on a 3-pointer with 28 seconds left in first quarter. His only points in the third quarter also came on a long ball.
In the fourth, though, he hit an 11-foot jumper before scoring on cuts to convert passes from Al Horford, Dennis Schroder and Korver.
He pitched in the two steals.
“I’ve been watching a lot of Kent Bazemore clips,” Scott said with a chuckle. “Nah, it’s something I’ve been trying to work on. Believe it or not, working on defense, rebounding, making plays for my teammates. The offense is going to be there.”
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