The Hawks were clinging to a two-point lead with seconds to play and the basketball was in the hands of their dynamic point guard.
It could have been starter Jeff Teague who drove the lane for a layup with 13.9 seconds remaining or who hit two free throws with 5.3 seconds left to seal a victory.
It wasn’t. It was backup Dennis Schroder.
The Hawks defeated the Lakers, 91-86, Sunday night in a game in which they rested three starters in DeMarre Carroll, Paul Millsap and Teague and lost Kyle Korver to a broken nose early. Without four starters, the Hawks still won.
It was the fifth time the Hawks played while resting two or more starters and they improved to 4-1 in those contests. In the lone loss, they blew a double-digit lead.
Let Lakers coach Byron Scott sum it up.
“It doesn’t seem to matter who is in the game, they’re just going to run their stuff,” Scott said. “You make a mistake and they’re going to make you pay. They’re just a good basketball team. They play the game the way it should be played. They play without an agenda. The bottom line for them is winning.”
Schroder finished with a game- and career-high 24 points. He also had a career-high tying 10 assists for his third double-double of the season.
“It shows that coach trusts me a lot,” Schroder said. “He keeps talking to me every day. That is because of my improvement. He trusts me and I love it.”
Also consider that Shelvin Mack had 18 points, Kent Bazemore had 13 points and nine rebounds and John Jenkins scored eight points. Al Horford, the lone remaining starter, had 21 points, five rebounds, five steals and three assists.
The Hawks plan to rest Horford in Monday’s game against the Kings. They had planned to rest Korver as well but he remained in Los Angeles to see a specialist about his nose.
Schroder’s rise this season has given the Hawks a 1-2 punch at point guard that has given opponents fits. Teague and Schroder share the attributes of speed and an ability to get into the paint.
“He’s a dog,” Bazemore said of Schroder. “The guy works hard. He doesn’t back down from anybody. He is very confident. That is the best thing you can have as a young player. Sometimes you get in a situation where you are not sure if you should do the things you are good at. He’s out there like he’s been around for eight, nine years.”
As the Hawks (52-14) cruise down the stretch and toward the postseason, they continue to get a two-fold benefit of their strategy. Starters are getting rest and reserves are getting experience. Both could be prove invaluable in the playoffs.
“It’s hard when you go through 82 games and you don’t get meaningful minutes or get to play,” Horford said of the bench. “Then you expect a guy to come in and perform.”
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer is rarely satisfied in his quest for the perfect game. The Hawks had to hold on to defeat the Lakers despite holding a comfortable margin much of the game.
“I’m really pleased that guys are getting an opportunity, whether it be John Jenkins with an opportunity to play or Kent or Dennis to have the ball in his hands at the end of the game to grow and develop,” Budenholzer said. “They are, like all of us, a long way from playing 48 minutes like we’d all like to.”
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