Hawks coach Larry Drew often describes it as a seduction.
When the Hawks, a good defensive team, take the court against a bad defensive team, they just can’t help themselves. Instead of clamping down and dominating the weaker foe, the Hawks are content to run up and down the court trying to trade baskets.
The Hawks tried that plan against Cleveland on Wednesday, and it nearly backfired. They needed some big shots from Joe Johnson to save them.
Johnson’s 25-foot 3-pointer forced overtime, and his basket provided the winning margin in the Hawks’ 103-102 victory at Philips Arena.
The Hawks (27-20) won for the third time in four games. Johnson had struggled shooting all game, but made amends at the end.
Cleveland rookie Kyrie Irving scored eight of Cleveland’s first 10 points of overtime for a 101-95 lead. The Hawks tied the score at 101-101 on a three-point play by Josh Smith. Johnson had made a 3-pointer to get the Hawks as close as 101-98.
After Tristan Thompson’s free throw gave Cleveland (17-27) a 102-101 lead, Johnson scored on a drive with 10 seconds left. The Hawks escaped with the victory when Irving missed a jump shot, and Alonzo Gee’s follow tip was short.
The Hawks led 88-87 after Johnson’s 3-pointer with 1:11 left in regulation. Then Irving, Cleveland’s crafty and quick guard, tried to finish off the Hawks.
Irving, the No. 1 overall pick in the most recent draft, scored on a drive for an 89-88 lead. After the Hawks’ Jeff Teague was called for a charging foul, Irving ran the shot clock nearly to the end until scoring a layup for a 91-88 Cleveland advantage with 5.4 seconds to go.
Johnson answered with the first of his scores under pressure. That erased the Hawks’ terrible start.
The Hawks trailed by 12 points before fans had settled in and 40-26 early in the second quarter. They allowed Irving, old pro Antawn Jamison and marginal bench player Manny Harris to score with relative ease.
And then, finally, the Hawks got started.
The Hawks outscored Cleveland 28-9 the rest of the quarter with defensive effort, hustle plays and crisp ball movement. The Hawks had four steals in the period, scored 10 points off six Cleveland turnovers and made 11 of 18 shots (61 percent).
The Hawks’ Jerry Stackhouse finished the quarter a flurry while totaling eight points, two steals and an assist over the final 3:46. Stackhouse set up Teague’s fast-break layup with a steal and pass, made a 3-pointer, had another steal that led to his own dunk and made another 3-pointer that gave the Hawks a 54-53 lead.
The Hawks appeared on their way from there after they gained a 64-59 lead early in the third quarter and were ahead 72-64 with two minutes left. But Cleveland scored the final 10 points of the quarter, capped by Irving’s jump shot at the buzzer for a 73-72 lead.
Both teams struggled to score in the fourth quarter. Cleveland missed its first five shots of the period and the Hawks were 1-for-9 and neither team could gain more than a two-point lead until Irving’s basket.
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