The 3-pointers are starting to fall for the Hawks.
That’s when it gets fun.
The Hawks set season-highs in 3-pointers made (17) and attempted (42) in Wednesday’s 122-101 victory over the Wizards.
As Kyle Korver said: “I hope that was a season-high attempts. It was half of our shots.”
Indeed it was. The Hawks had 84 total field goal attempts. The 3-pointers accounted for 42 percent of their points. The Hawks bettered the 16 3-pointers they had against the Heat on Feb. 20 and the 41 attempts they had against the Bucks the very next night.
“I didn’t think we were taking bad ones though,” Korver said Wednesday. “We were just taking what they were giving us. They do a great job of packing the paint. They were really forcing us to shoot. They do a good job of taking away our rolls and clogging the paint. So, guys took what was there.
“When you are making 3’s it just gives you energy. Right? It gives every team energy when you are knocking down shots.”
The Hawks offense was inconsistent for much of the season. It is starting to return to the form that helped in a 60-win campaign last season. The 3-point shot is a big reason for the turnaround.
The Hawks have made double-digit 3-pointers in 18 of the past 23 games, including seven straight. The trend started in a win over the Mavericks on Feb. 1. The Hawks are 15-8 over the span, seven games over .500. They were 27-22 and coming off three straight losses before that win over the Mavericks. In total the Hawks are shooting 37.6 percent (266 of 707) during the past 23 games.
A couple of Hawks players have been especially sharp from long range of late.
* Korver is shooting 52.5 percent (32 of 61) over the last 12 games;
* Al Horford is shooting 47.1 percent (16 of 34) over the last nine games;
* Thabo Sefolosha is shooting 50 percent (9 of 18) over the last seven games;
* Tim Hardaway Jr. is shooting 54.2 percent (13 of 24) over the last four games.
“There was definitely a we-need-to-play-better factor,” Korver said of the latest win. “We are looking at the bigger picture. The last two times we played a team on back-to-back nights, we lost them both (Knicks and Magic). I think we are just focused on playing better basketball. We know the standings are really tight. We know that. Every game is really important right now.”
The Hawks have won six of the past seven, nine of the past 11 and 11 of the past 14 games. With the win over the Wizards, the Hawks (42-30) moved back into third place in the Eastern Conference standings with 10 games remaining in the regular season. The margin is thin as the Hawks, Celtics, Heat and Hornets remain separated by just a half-game for spots 3-6. It was important for the Hawks to avenge the loss to the same Wizards suffered in Atlanta on Monday.
The Hawks used a 25-5 run between the third and fourth quarters to run away with what had been a back-and-forth contest. The Hawks hit four 3-pointers during the decisive stretch.
“We were trying to get back in the game and they made shot after shot,” Wizards guard Marcus Thornton said.
About the Author
