DENVER — In spite of their gaffes, botched possessions and Danilo Gallinari’s incredible 3-pointer, the Hawks still had a chance to win late Tuesday with a play that was executed perfectly ... right up until Zaza Pachulia’s layup attempt bounced off the backboard.
“I have to finish when I have that kind of opportunity,” Pachulia said in the Hawks’ dejected locker room after their 118-117 overtime loss to Denver. “I take that blame on my shoulders.”
There was plenty to go around after the Hawks missed a chance for another quality victory on their six-game trip that concluded late Wednesday at the Clippers.
Joe Johnson forced shots that missed and had careless turnovers late in regulation and in overtime. Jannero Pargo fumbled away an inbounds pass. Kirk Hinrich missed a free throw with the score tied and 1.1 seconds left in regulation.
“Going down the stretch, we had opportunities that we just kind of let slip away,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said.
It started when the Hawks, leading 102-96 with less than three minutes to play, allowed Ty Lawson to score one of Denver’s 26 baskets at the rim. Johnson threw the ball away, and the Nuggets scored on another layup. Johnson forced another shot that missed, and Denver scored on yet another layup that tied the score.
After the teams traded baskets, the Hawks’ Josh Smith scored on a spinning drive for a 104-102 lead with 29.6 seconds left. When the Hawks rebounded Lawson’s miss, it looked as if they were headed to victory.
But Marvin Williams’ pass for Pargo slipped through his hands and bounced out of bounds off his leg. That led to Gallinari’s 3-pointer, a fading shot taken with both Johnson and Smith closely challenging.
“I don’t know how he made it,” Johnson said.
Hinrich said: “I was boxing out under the basket and when he let it go, I thought, ‘There’s no way he will make that,’ and then the ball fell through the net into my hands.”
The Hawks got another chance when Hinrich stumbled, recovered, and then drove to the rim to draw a foul. It looked good for the Hawks because Hinrich has made better than 80 percent of his free-throw attempts in a nine-year career.
“I made the hard one, the first one, and I missed the second,” Hinrich said. “I’m very disappointed.”
The Hawks led 117-112 in overtime after Johnson’s basket, but didn’t score again. Vladimir Radmanovic missed his fourth 3-pointer in as many attempts, Johnson’s forced shot led to a shot-clock violation and then Pachulia couldn’t convert when he caught the pass near the basket.
“We had so many opportunities, you know,” Pachulia said. “I don’t think we were lucky today. Of course it’s not an excuse. I have to finish that [layup].”
Drew had run the offense through Johnson after Smith fouled out in overtime, but he said the last play was for Pachulia.
“That was probably the best play we executed all night,” Drew said. “‘Z’ just missed a point-blank layup. But I told the guys it didn’t come down to that. That game was lost in the first half when we didn’t make a stand defensively, and they basically had their way with us.”
The Hawks had to quickly shake off the defeat and play the Clippers late Wednesday. They did so without Williams, who suffered a hip injury during the Nuggets game, guard Willie Green (back) and forward Ivan Johnson (personal).
