Kyle Korver finally fell in love with his mask, which is saying something because he has hated that thing, but the best part of his shift Monday night against the Milwaukee Bucks did not come upon the occasions where he said, “it saved me [and his broken nose].” No, the best part of his work came when he pretended like “it” wasn’t there.
As he blitzed the Bucks with 11 consecutive points in a span of 65 seconds in the third quarter for his only scores, the Hawks’ shooting guard looked like the pre-All-Star game sniper who put up remarkable shooting numbers.
Korver missed his first five shots in the game, and then – with Milwaukee having whittled Atlanta’s lead to five points – he hit a 30-footer with 5:49 left in the period, a 21-footer at the 5:27 mark, and two more long balls at 5:05 and 4:44.
Those 11 points in a row staked the Hawks to a 67-51 lead in a game they eventually won 101-88.
“I just needed one to go in, and one finally did and I was like, ‘Let’s go!’” he said. “I have been so frustrated shooting with this mask on my face.”
After missing three games following surgery on the nose he broke March 15 in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, Korver made 10 of 22 shots, including 7 of 17 3-pointers in his first three games with the mask.
He shed it for a while last Wednesday in Orlando, but has been cautioned about that.
He’ll wear it as long as it’s prudent — as it was late Monday.
“I took a shot to the nose that would have put me back to square one so I’m not going to complain about the mask anymore,” he said. “I took two of them in the fourth quarter, one on Chris Middleton’s layup. It would’ve been bad so I’m grateful for it.”
Korver laughed at his story, at the thought of what he’d avoided.
His teammates are grateful for what he can bring. That was nearly all the time before the All-Star break, when Korver made 52.8 percent of his 3-pointers while averaging 12.5 points in 53 games.
Since the break, he’s made 39.6 percent of his 3-point attempts, including Monday’s 3-for-9 outing (he was 4 of 10 overall).
He was cooking in the third.
The back-to-back long balls came as he curled around screens – the first on the high right elbow and the second on the left high elbow – caught and shot in nearly no time at all.
“That’s what he does, man. It’s what makes him so effective,” said point guard Jeff Teague, who delivered the last pass. “He’s probably the quickest trigger in the NBA, and he shoots it at a high rate. It’s unbelievable the way he gets his shot off with guys chasing him all over, and double-teaming him.”
Coach Mike Budenholzer is big on team ball, yet even he had a special appreciation for Korver’s hot streak.
“To see him get to that on an individual level was very impressive,” Budenholzer said. “We felt like we kept getting a 12 or 14-point lead and get a chance to extend it … Kyle individually created one of those separations.”
Korver doesn’t want his nose separated from its moorings again. So, he’ll keep wearing that mask.
“I really don’t want to talk about it. I shouldn’t have brought it up,” he said. “I’m grateful for it.”
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