Some call the Hawks the Spurs of the East.
Well, the Spurs are still the Spurs.
The defending NBA champions dismantled the Hawks 114-95 Sunday afternoon at Philips Arena in a game they led by as many as 26 points after a dominant first quarter.
Of even bigger concern, the Hawks lost their third straight game, the first time this season they have lost that many in a row. In losses to the Warriors, Thunder and Spurs, the Hawks are allowed those opponents an average of 117 points per game on 53.2 percent shooting. Defense has been the catalyst of the Hawks’ success this record-breaking season.
“I think the last three games, the way teams have been able to get free, get shots, get percentages is a concern,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “It’s a lot of little things. It starts with better individual defense. But I would probably be more concerned if we hadn’t shown an ability to do it a lot of the season. We need to draw on that. We need to know how important it is first to be good defensively and kind of remind us how we are good defensively and get back to doing that.”
The Hawks (53-17, 30-5 home) have 12 games remaining in the regular season and fatigue may be a concern headed to the postseason.
“You have to be concerned,” Al Horford said. “You have to address it and fix it. I’d rather this happen to us now then when you are in the playoffs and not have been faced with anything like this all season and then everybody is thinking the world is going to end.”
The Spurs put the Hawks in an immediate hole there was no chance to escape. They led 26-6 with 4:04 remaining in the first quarter. The Hawk could get no closer than 13 points in the first half.
The Spurs increased their lead to 26 points, 69-43, with 9:07 after Budenholzer was ejected for his second technical foul, just 1:09 after he picked up his first for arguing with officials. The Hawks would get no closer than 14 points.
The Hawks committed 19 turnovers in the loss in which they played fairly even after the Spurs’ initial run. Kyle Korver, returning after a three-game absence with a broken nose, and Jeff Teague had five turnovers apiece.
“We lost that game in the first quarter,” Teague said. “Beyond that it really didn’t matter.
… It’s pretty much a wrap, when you get down to a team like that. They’re not going to beat themselves.”
Paul Millsap led the Hawks with 22 points. Dennis Schroder added 18 points. The Hawks magic number to clinch the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference remained at three games.
The Spurs (44-25) have won 10 of the past 12 games. They have beaten the Hawks nine straight games. Tiago Splitter led six Spurs in double figures with a season-high 23 points. Kawhi Leonard (20), Boris Diaw (17), Danny Green (15), Marco Belinelli (13) and Tim Duncan (12) were the other double-digit scorers. The Spurs won with Tony Parker and Duncan combining for 20 points and Manu Ginobili out with an injury.
The Hawks make a concerted effort to take away the inside from opponents and yet the Spurs had 60 points in the paint.
The concern for the Hawks remains their defense coming into the home stretch of the season. Can it be fixed in time for the playoffs?
“It’s all mental,” Korver said. “We have to get our edge back. Defense is about playing with energy. It’s been a long season and we have a nice lead in the standings. We know the playoffs are coming. It was a long road trip. We have to find the mental toughness to just approach the game with a greater sense of urgency.
“If we do that, we are going to be fine. We are that same team. We are the same players. But we have to get our mental edge back. That’s what defense is.”
Hawks players in the postgame locker room were confident that they can get back to playing the way that has made them so successful.
“It’s just a little adversity,” DeMarre Carroll said. “When adversity hits, what are you going to do? We got a little out of sync. It’s not a concern.”
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