ORLANDO — Hawks coach Larry Drew said there were times over the final three weeks of the regular season when guard Kirk Hinrich looked worn down.
Then the ball tipped for Game 1 of Atlanta's playoff series against Orlando Saturday and Hinrich's game immediately came to life.
Hinrich helped bottle up Magic counterpart Jameer Nelson and made 5 of his first 7 shots on the way to 13 points in Atlanta's 103-93 victory.
“His energy was really high,” Drew said. “His shot was looking good. I could see the confidence when he shot a couple of them in the first half.”
Hinrich chuckled when asked if he'd been saving his legs for the postseason.
“The end of the year is tough, especially when we kind of got in a spot where we locked into the fifth [seed] and we didn't play very well,” Hinrich said Sunday. “Hey, this is the playoffs. You have got to crank it up.”
The Hawks acquired Hinrich in a February trade to improve the team's defense. After good early results, Hinrich labored to stay with quick point guards like Houston's Kyle Lowry and San Antonio's Tony Parker.
Hinrich also suffered through a shooting slump. He made just 15 of 47 shots (32 percent) in a seven-game stretch from March 30 to April 11.
Hinrich was the only Hawks starter Drew played in the second half of the regular-season finale at Charlotte Wednesday. Drew said he wanted to get Hinrich in a rhythm and the 30-year-old veteran responded with good defensive work against D.J. Augustin while making 4 of 7 shots in the third quarter.
“It was something that kind of helped me find my way a little bit,” Hinrich said. “Coming out [for Game 1] I wanted to be aggressive at both ends and try to affect the game.”
The Hawks don't play again until Tuesday. Hinrich said he's usually against two days off between games “but as physical as the game was last night it might do us some good.”
He spent a lot of his time chasing Nelson through screens set by Orlando center Dwight Howard.
“The hard part of it is Dwight is so big and strong,” Hinrich said.
Getting physical
Jason Collins' Hawks teammates teased him for getting so much praise for his defense considering Howard scored 46 points in Game 1.
“Hey, it wasn't like I was the only one out there,” Collins shot back.
Collins actually was the most effective defender against Howard, who got Zaza Pachulia in foul trouble and easily overpowered Etan Thomas and Josh Powell.
“I try to frustrate him and do what I can to get under his skin,” Collins said.
Based on his conversations with Howard during the game, Collins said he thinks he accomplished his goal. In the second half Howard was called for a foul after he head-butted Collins, though Howard said the blow wasn't intentional.
“He pulled me back,” Howard said. “Of course I am going to fly back. But he should get an Academy Award.”
Collins said he won't change his tactics when he's one-on-one against Howard.
“He doesn't like physical play,” Collins said. “He likes to spin off, get lobs and get dunks. Like most players that like to score, he doesn't like getting hit. So our job is to hit him and be physical with him.”
Size matters
Magic coach Stan Van Gundy said the team's video session on Sunday focused mostly on defense. He said the Hawks found match ups they liked and repeatedly exploited them, with Orlando guard J.J. Redick and forward Ryan Anderson as favored targets.
“We can't have it be a one-one-one ballgame," Van Gundy said. "That's not to our benefit. That's where their size becomes an advantage. So we have got to do some things to move them around and get bodies off of us.”
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