Paul Millsap took notice.
It was after the fact, but the Hawks forward will remember the reaction of the Pacers’ Paul George following his third-quarter, buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference playoff series.
George made a 28-footer just before the red light came on that give the Pacers a 14-point advantage going into the final quarter. George let out a primal scream after the basket and then turned toward the Hawks’ bench. He continued until he was mobbed by his teammates.
“I didn’t see it until I watched the film,” Millsap said Thursday before Game 3. “A little fired up about it. It was a big play, pretty much the turning point of the game. We can’t have moments like that.
“I don’t know if everybody else saw it. I watched film when I got home, and I saw it. I’m not sure if everybody else did, but I’ll be sure to bring it to the table.”
Contain George: George scored a team-high 24 and 27 points in the first two games of the series. The Hawks know the All-Star is going to get his points. It's his teammates, especially the reserves, that the Hawks want to contain.
“It’s not going to happen, slowing him down,” Millsap said of George. “He’s a great player. It’s going to be everybody else, guys like Luis Scola coming in and getting 20 points. We can’t have that. C.J. Watson coming in and making 3-point shots. Those are the guys we have to contain.”
Game 2 fixes: Several Hawks said that despite the 16-point loss in Game 2, a game in which they trailed by as many as 27, no major adjustments were necessary.
“When you are going through it and you are down by 20 points, it feels a lot worse than it looks after we watched it on tape,” Brand said. “We see the mistakes we can correct. We are not overly confident because we know they are a good team.”
Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer pointed to the team’s third-quarter execution as the reason for the defeat. The Hawks led by as many as 11 points in the first half, but were outscored 31-13 in the decisive period.
“I don’t think there were any major revelations,” Budenholzer said of a Wednesday video session. “I think our execution and what we want to get done on both ends of the third quarter was not where it needed to be. It’s always little things — things we did well in Game 1 and the first half (of Game 2) and during the season. We have to make sure we don’t lose that focus and that attention and that effort and that energy.”
Hudson service: A memorial service for Hawks great Lou Hudson will be held May 3. The service will be held at 5 p.m. at Mount Paran Church, 2055 Mount Paran Road NW in Atlanta.
In lieu of flowers, the Hudson family asks that donations be sent to any of the following:
Andrew & Walter Young YMCA with donations to pay for underprivileged kids to attend summer camp (www.ymcaatlanta.org/swy), Hospice Atlanta (www.vnhs.org) or Shepherd Center (www.shepherd.org).
Hudson died April 11 at the age of 69 several weeks after suffering a severe stroke. Known as “Sweet Lou,” he is one of three Hawks to have his number retired. His No. 23 is joined by Bob Pettit’s No. 9 and Dominique Wilkins’ No. 21. He was drafted by the St. Louis Hawks in the first round (No. 4 overall) of the 1966 draft. He played 11 of his 13 NBA seasons for the Hawks. He was a six-time All-Star, being honored in consecutive seasons from 1968-69 to 1973-74. The 6-foot-5 guard/forward played in 890 NBA games and averaged 20.2 points, 4.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists.
