A recap of the Hawks’ 98-95 victory over the Mavericks on Wednesday:
Noteworthy
* The Hawks won despite being outrebounded 20-6 on the offensive glass.
* The Hawks bench finished with 35 points and was a plus-22.
* Tiago Splitter said there were not issues with his right hip that cost him the previous seven games.
* Kyle Korver noted that Kent Bazemore played the entire first half with his shorts on backward.
* Paul Millsap recorded his 11th double-double of the season with a game-high 20 points and 11 rebounds (he also had five assists, three steals and a block). The Hawks are 9-2 in games Millsap has a double-double.
* The Mavericks’ Dirk Nowitzki finished with just 13 points on 6 of 20 shooting, including 1 of 8 from 3-point range.
* The Mavericks had 17 second-chance points on their 20 offensive rebounds.
* The Hawks had five double-digit scorers in Millsap (20), Al Horford (14), Jeff Teague (14), Bazemore (12) and Dennis Schroder (11). Schroder had the Hawks’ first five points of the fourth quarter.
* The Hawks were 6 of 20 from 3-point range (30.0 percent) and the Mavericks were 7 of 31 from long-range (22.6 percent).
* The Mavericks claimed their 564th consecutive sellout of 19,936 despite a great number of empty upper-deck seats.
Key stat
0 for 5
The Mavericks missed their final five shots after they took a 93-89 lead with 3:07 remaining.
Quote of the game
“I just got it my feet set. I’m falling in love with that jumper more and more. It was a heck of a pass by Jeff (Teague). I don’t even know how he saw me.” –Bazemore on game-winning 3-pointer.
Report card
Offense: B-plus
The Hawks trailed by four points twice in the final 4:38 and rallied from both deficits. Millsap had a brilliant steal to start a fast break for a Korver and-one layup. The final came with 3:07 left and the Mavericks up 93-89. Millsap had an offensive rebound put-back and Bazemore followed with this 3-pointer. The Hawks had 27-point second and third quarters. The key to the grade was how the Hawks responded late offensively.
Defense: A-minus
The Hawks held the Mavericks to 23 or fewer points in three of the four quarters. They got huge stops down the stretch when they needed it. It speaks volumes about the defense to win while allowing 20 offensive rebounds. The group of Millsap, Horford, Thabo Sefolosha and Mike Muscala combined to nearly silence Nowitzki.
About the Author