The Hawks wanted to run but all they saw was the Mavericks racing by them.
The Mavericks shot better than 60 percent for much of the game and nearly put up 100 points before the end of the third quarter. The result was a 127-113 victory over the Hawks Monday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks trailed by as many as 21 points in a game where they had far had too many defensive lapses and turnovers.
“We didn’t guard,” coach Larry Drew said after the Mavs finished shooting 57.3 percent. “We had no defensive presence whatsoever. I don’t care what the strategy was or what the game plan was, if you allow teams to shoot 60 percent you are not going to win.
“We couldn’t keep them in front of us. They were beating us with Basketball 101 stuff.”
The Mavericks hit the 100-point mark just 47 seconds into the fourth quarter on two free throws by Dirk Nowitzki. The Hawks, who committed 15 turnovers, started a lineup with Jeff Teague and Devin Harris at guard to push the tempo against the Mavericks. It did not work as effectively as it did in a win in Dallas last month.
The Hawks (37-30), who had a three-game win streak snapped, got double-digit scoring from eight players, including all five starters, as they shot 56 percent to no avail. Teague (19 points), Al Horford (16), Josh Smith (13), Anthony Tolliver (12), Kyle Korver (11), Harris (10), John Jenkins (10) and Ivan Johnson (10) paced the offense. Korver extended his streak to 60 straight games with a 3-pointer.
“I felt we played hard we just had too many deflating plays,” said Horford, who also had 11 rebounds for a double-double. “That is the only thing that sticks out to me. We are about to score in transition and we throw the ball away. Or we take an ill-advised 3-point shot on the break. Things against a team like that, they were making us pay. I felt we had decent energy, considering the situation. They just played better.”
The Mavericks (32-35) won for the sixth time in the past eight games. They ended a two-game losing streak to the Hawks. Darren Collison came off the bench and scored a game-high 24 points. Nowitzki added 22 points as the Mavericks had six double-digit scorers.
“Collison had 18 points in the first half,” Drew said. “Collison is a good player but our game plan and our game strategy was not to concern ourselves with Darren Collison. I take nothing away from him but when you’ve got guys like Dirk Nowitzki and O.J. Mayo, guys who are capable of going off and having big games, those are the guys you talk about trying to defend.”
There was a brief delay in action between the third and fourth quarters when a Hawks cheerleader slipped and hit her head on the floor. She was removed on a stretcher. According to the team, she did not lose consciousness and was taken to Atlanta Medical Center for tests and treatment.
The Hawks, coming off a big win against the Nets Sunday, could not keep the momentum. They kept a half-game lead over the Bulls and Celtics for the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls lost to the Nuggets and the Celtics lost to the Heat Monday night. The Hawks did fall two games behind the Nets, winners against the Pistons, for the fourth spot.
“We felt we had a really big opportunity here,” Teague said. “Now, we have to be in a dogfight again with Milwaukee coming in here (Wednesday) who is hungry too. Hopefully we make a move.”
The Mavericks opened a 19-point second-quarter lead and took a 68-55 lead at halftime thanks to some torrid shooting. Dallas shot 63 percent from the field (29 of 46). That included making 6 of 8 from 3-point range. They finished making 13 of 22 from long range. The Hawks hit only 8 of 21 3-point attempts.
Collison had 18 first-half points to pace a Mavericks bench that had 38 points through two quarters and 61 for the game. At one stretch of the second quarter, Collison scored 13 of 15 points, including 10 straight.
“(After) the success we had against them in our first meeting, clearly they had their mind made up they were going to bring it to us and clearly they did,” Drew said. “We didn’t respond very well to it. That is not acceptable. Not at this stage of the season. At this stage there can be no excuses. It’s at the time of the year when you have to really suck it up. You have to grind it out. You can’t look for excuses. We did at the very beginning of that game. That is not acceptable whatsoever.
“I’m proud of our team for last night’s win but we can’t live off last night. We are a team that is bunched up with a bunch of other teams (in the playoff race). We had a chance to make a significant statement after last night’s game but we let that opportunity slide away.”
The Hawks host the Bucks Wednesday, the second of a three-game homestand.
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