Al Horford and Jeff Teague have something significant in common.
The longest tenured Hawks have been to the playoffs in each of their NBA seasons – all with the franchise. Horford, in year eight, and Teague, in year six, have experienced the postseason cauldron together.
The two were there again, when needed the most, in the final minutes of a Game 5 playoff victory over the Nets Wednesday night. They scored 15 of the Hawks’ 25 fourth-quarter points in a pivotal 107-97 win for a 3-2 lead in the Eastern Conference quarterfinal series. The Hawks can clinch the best-of-seven series in Game 6 on Friday in New York.
Horford hit a pair of 19-foot jump shots, both assisted by Teague, in the final 2:39. Teague scored six points in a 10-2 run to end the game, including back-to-back drives 25 seconds apart.
“I used to have to tell DeMarre (Carroll) to shoot the ball and now it’s Al,” Teague said after the game. “When Al is aggressive and just looking at his shot, looking at the basket, it opens up the floor for everyone. So that’s why I just kept telling Al ‘Shoot the ball, shoot the ball. If you miss it, it doesn’t matter.’ It’s the flow of the offense. Once he sees one go in, he’s confident that he’s going to keep making them.”
Horford finished with 20 points, 15 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocks. It was the 19th career playoff double-double for the center and moved him past Dan Roundfield for seventh on the Hawks’ all-time playoff list. Horford did miss last year’s postseason with a torn pectoral muscle.
Teague finished with 20 points, eight assists and three steals. The point guard moved past Josh Smith for fifth in assists and Kevin Willis and Steve Smith for sixth in steals on the all-time playoff list.
“When they start coaching themselves, when they start coaching each other, it’s more meaningful and more powerful,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said Thursday of Teague’s urging for Horford to shoot more. “Each of them, we need them to be aggressive. We want them to be aggressive. Al isn’t any different. Sometimes Al is too unselfish and Al is looking for a teammate. … When he’s got good opportunities and when he is open, he’s a heck of a shooter. We need him to take those. That will ultimately free up everybody else and create opportunities. I think there were one or two situations when Al was maybe too unselfish. I think Jeff probably wanted him to know to shoot it. Let it fly.”
The Hawks led Game 5 by as many as 17 points with a fast first quarter. The Nets battled back and eventually pulled to within a point, 90-89, with 4:41 remaining. Teague drained a 3-pointer to start a final burst that had the Hawks outscoring the Nets 17-8 the rest of the way. He hit a layup with 1:07 left and following with a floater in the lane with 42 seconds remaining. The last basket elicited a scream and muscle flex of emotion as the final nail in the coffin.
Horford has averaged 13.6 points and 10.6 rebounds through the first five games of the series. Teague has averaged 17.0 points and 6.8 assists.
“Those two guys have played together for a long time,” Budenholzer said. “It’s great for them. They are doing it together on both ends of the court. We need that to continue. We’ll need more (Friday).”
Regardless of the outcome of Friday’s Game 6, the Hawks will play again Sunday at 1 p.m. at Philips Arena. It will be either a deciding Game 7 of the series with the Nets or Game 1 of the semifinal series against the Wizards.
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