Hawks center Johan Petro missed Sunday’s practice after flying to Miami to be with his expectant wife.
Doctors were scheduled to induce the birth of the child. The Hawks expect Petro to return to Atlanta in time for Game 4 of their playoff series against the Pacers Monday night.
Petro started Game 3 of the series, a 90-69 Hawks win Saturday that pulled them to a 2-1 deficit in the best-of-seven first-round series.
Jeff Teague, who suffered a right elbow contusion after a fall in Saturday’s game, was a full practice participant and is expected to play Monday.
Key timeout
Coach Larry Drew called a timeout with 9:21 remaining in the first quarter and the Hawks trailing 8-1 in Game 3. He was not happy with the team’s early effort.
“Obviously with the importance of (Saturday) night’s game, I never would have thought I would have to call a timeout two and half minutes into the game,” Drew said. “I felt I had to. I wasn’t happy. With all the things we talked about leading up to Game 3, from an energy standpoint not necessarily a game scheme standpoint, I didn’t see that look in their eyes. I didn’t see it in their body language. Therefore, I called it. I had to make them aware of it. They responded to it.”
The Hawks answered with a 42-10 run that essentially won the game.
Shortened bench
The Hawks played just eight players more than 15 minutes in the victory. John Jenkins, Mike Scott, Shelvin Mack and Dahntay Jones played the final 3:05 and DeShawn Stevenson did not play.
Drew said it was part of his game strategy to shorten his bench. He said it was “possible” that he will use the same plan in Game 4.
Etc.
Drew said he thought the officials made the correct call in accessing David West a Flagrant I foul for pushing Al Horford on a fast break in the second quarter. “I don’t think he made a serious play on the ball,” Drew said.
Lou Williams, out for the season with a torn ACL, was doing rehab on the practice court Sunday when the Hawks arrived for free-throw practice. Williams joined the daily end-of-practice 3-point shooting contest. The guard won the opening game, on one leg, and promptly walked off the court to get ice treatment. Rookie Mike Scott, a rare participant, won the second contest in a shootout over Stevenson.
The Hawks have struggled at the free-throw line during the series. They have shot .548 (34 of 62) through the first three games. The Pacers have shot .791 (72 of 91). Drew had his players working on free throws to start and finish Sunday’s workout.
The time and channel for Wednesday’s Game 5 in Indiana have yet to be determined. The details will be determined based on the status of the Knicks-Celtics and Thunder-Rockets series.
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