DeMarre Carroll insisted he and his Hawks teammates didn’t hear the noise associated with the recent season-long three-game losing streak.
Following defeats to the Warriors, Thunder and Spurs, concern began to surface.
Had the Hawks peaked too early? What has gone wrong since the All-Star break? Was another first-round exit on the horizon despite a record-breaking season?
Oh, so many questions. Such is the latest version of a Hawks franchise that one three-game slide is an issue.
The Hawks survived a slow start and used a fourth-quarter rally to defeat the Magic, 95-83, Wednesday to end their skid and ease some of the trepidation of their fan base.
“Coach (Mike Budenholzer) did a good job of rallying the troops and allowing us to give him feedback and he gave us feedback,” Carroll said. “We got back to the laboratory. When you are down and out, you always get back to what was working and how you got there. We were working hard every day. We did get a little lackadaisical. But we are back to playing Hawks basketball and back to the basics.”
After allowing the Magic 31 first-quarter points, the Hawks surrendered just 42 points over the final three quarters. The 31 second-half points allowed was a season-low for an opponent, besting the 34 points the Mavericks were held to on Feb. 25.
The Hawks made a second-half defensive adjustment in their pick-and-roll coverage to keep Magic guards Victor Oladipo and Elfrid Payton out of the paint. More importantly, the Hawks picked up their defensive activity and aggression. They forced the Magic into seven fourth-quarter turnovers, three each by Oladipo and Payton. The Magic shot just 25 percent (4 of 16) in the final period as the Hawks ended the game on a 22-4 run. After trailing 79-73, they needed just 6:23 for a 12-point win.
“Especially, going into the playoffs, we’ve got to learn to adjust on the fly, especially with who is on the court (for the opposition),” said Paul Millsap, who finished with a game-high 25 points and 11 rebounds.
The Hawks also played much better offensively in the second half. Jeff Teague finished with 16 points, including nine in the fourth quarter. They are still some issues as Al Horford, Kyle Korver and Carroll were all 5 of 12 from the field. However, each hit important shots in the fourth quarter to back the efforts of Millsap and Teague.
“We needed a win,” Korver said. “We needed to play well, let alone if we won or lost the game. We needed to get back to who were are and play Atlanta Hawks basketball again. I thought the second half we did that. Thirty-one points in the second half, 12 points in the fourth quarter, that’s what we need to hang our hat on. That is the heart of who we are, the backbone of who we are. It was good to see that.
“In the second half we started to score some points again. We haven’t played good basketball for a couple weeks. As a group it was like ‘OK, here we go again. We are finally playing the way we want to play again.’ It was a good fourth quarter for our team. Not just the win. The game, obviously, is great. But for the bigger picture, seeing us play that way again, felt good.”
The Hawks begin a stretch of four games in five nights. They have home-road back-to-backs against the Heat and Hornets Friday and the Bucks and Pistons Monday and Tuesday.
The Hawks will almost assuredly rest some players during the stretch. Budenholzer said final decisions have not been made and several players said they have not been told of the upcoming plans.
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