Just what happened to the Hawks in their double-overtime victory over the Celtics Friday night, a game in which they erased a 27-point second-quarter deficit?
Al Horford had a simple answer.
“Kyle happened,” he said.
Kyle Korver hit a record-setting eight 3-pointers in the second half as the Hawks mounted an epic comeback for a 123-111 win. He hit three 3-pointers in the third quarter, two coming in a 21-2 Hawks run as they completely erased a 19-point halftime deficit. He hit five more from long range in the fourth quarter, three coming in a string of four straight 3-pointers after the Hawks had fallen behind by 10 more points with 4:44 remaining in regulation.
Korver played 33 minutes, 50 seconds of the second half and two overtime periods. He only came out of the game for the final 10 seconds as the Hawks had completed the stunner.
“When the ones that don’t feel good go in, it’s nice,” Korver said of his game-high 27 point performance. “It was just a good shooting night. … It’s one of those things that when you make some shots you get better screens and you get better passes. They guys did a good job of helping me get open. I don’t create shots on my own. I work off of everybody and just try to play good team basketball.”
Korver’s eight 3-pointers set a Hawks franchise record for 3-pointers in a half, breaking the mark of seven shared by Steve Smith (3/14/97 vs. Seattle) and Henry James (4/15/97 vs. New Jersey). He extended his career-long streak to 37 straight games with at least one 3-pointer, the longest active streak in the NBA. It’s the second-longest streak in Hawks history behind Mookie Blaylock’s 42-game stretch (3/26/96-1/11/97).
“He’s one of the best shooters in NBA history and he proved it tonight,” Jeff Teague said.
With 1,241 career 3-pointers, Korver moved past Stephen Jackson, Damon Stoudamire and Jason Williams into 35th place in NBA history.
Korver also had six rebounds, four assists, three steals and two blocks in the Hawks’ victory, one that avenged an earlier-season loss to the Celtics where they failed to hold a 15-point halftime advantage. The loss was part of slide where the Hawks lost eight of 10 games. They have now won three straight headed into Sunday’s game against the Knicks in New York.
“Kyle Korver was in the zone,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said. “It seemed like everything he was throwing up was going in. I was just trying to draw up plays to get the ball in his hands. I knew they had to double-team him coming off screens. He made some nice passes on cuts and rolls as well.”
Korver wasn’t the only Hawks who played a major part in the improbable victory, one that tied the franchise record for largest halftime deficit erased (1/25/69 at Baltimore and 4/2/04 at Orlando). Horford and Josh Smith each had a double-double. Horford had 24 points and 13 rebounds. Smith had 17 points and 14 rebounds. Teague finished with
23 points, seven assists and three steals. Devin Harris, inserted into the starting lineup for the second half, scored 14 points.
“The most exciting part to me was how we didn’t lay down in that second half,” Smith said. “We came out, down by 19, everybody understood what was at stake. We wanted to come out and play a great second half. It wasn’t that the energy wasn’t there in the first half, we just couldn’t make shots.”
The Hawks are looking to put their losing streak well behind them. Following Sunday’s game against the Knicks, the Hawks face the Bulls, Pacers and Grizzlies in the next two weeks.
“I told the guys it was going to be a different second half of the season for us,” Horford said. “We are going to be better, more competitive. This is a perfect example.”
