It’s a good thing they played.
In a game that was nearly postponed by inclement weather, the Hawks used a strong second half en route to 104-87 victory over the Mavericks Wednesday night at Philips Arena.
At one point during the day, Hawks players were told the game was postponed. An hour later they were informed they would indeed play. It might have accounted for the slow start, in which the Hawks fell behind by as many as 14 points in the first half.
“Not to make excuses but as an NBA player, this being our job, it’s not only physical it’s mental too,” DeMarre Carroll said. “They told me the game was off and I got my family and we went to the grocery store. We thought we were going to get snowed in. Then I get a text message when I’m in aisle seven pushing the buggy and they tell me the game is on. I had to hurry up. There was a lot of chaos.”
The Hawks (45-12, 26-4 home) finished strong against a depleted Mavericks team to sweep the season series 2-0. They increased their Eastern Conference lead to eight games over the idle Raptors.
The Hawks had six players in double figures, including all five starters. Dennis Schroder had another strong showing against the Mavericks with a team-high 17 points. Kyle Korver (16), Paul Millsap (15), Carroll (13), Al Horford (11) and Jeff Teague (11) were the others in double figures. Schroder averaged 19.5 points in the two games against the Mavericks. Millsap and Horford each had eight rebounds.
“I thought Dennis early, middle, late was really a big factor,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “Seventeen points, four assists, he hit shots, he guarded, he did a lot of things well. We needed him tonight.”
The Mavericks (39-21) had a three-game win streak snapped as they played without Rajon Rondo (suspension), Tyson Chandler (hip), Amare Stoudemire (rest) and Chandler Parsons (ankle). They also dropped their first road game against an Eastern Conference opponent (13-1). Monte Ellis had a game-high 19 points, only four after intermission. Dirk Nowitzki was held to four points on 2 of 7 shooting.
The Hawks opened the third quarter on a 19-4 run to overcome a double-digit first-half deficit. The Hawks shot 57.1 percent (12 for 21) in the decisive quarter. They held the Mavericks to six field goals and forced six turnovers.
The Hawks added insult to injury by opening the fourth quarter with a 12-0 run, capped by back-to-back 3-pointers from Korver and Schroder to lead by 21, 89-68. They would up their advantage to as many as 23 points. The Hawks are 39-2 this season when leading at any point by 10 or more points.
The Hawks held the Mavericks to 34 second-half points, a season-low for an opponent in the final two quarters this season. The Mavericks had 34 first-quarter points.
“The defense really turned it around,” Korver said.
The Mavericks took a commanding lead in the first quarter, leading by as many as 14 points. The Mavericks shot 63.6 percent (14 of 22) and the Hawks shot 40 percent (8 of 20) in the quarter.
Technical difficulties abounded in the game. In the first half, the game was briefly stopped when the roof leaked on the floor. The clock also froze three times causing officials to estimate the correct time.
“I thought we started playing better defensively,” Horford said. “We were sloppy at the beginning, kind of running all over the place. Once we settled down and started playing our style of basketball, everything became easy.”
The Hawks host the Magic on Friday.
About the Author
