Mike Budenholzer may not really turn the Hawks head-coaching duties over to Jeff Teague but he sure listened to his point guard.
At Teague’s request, Budenholzer kept Shelvin Mack in for the entire fourth quarter of the Hawks’ 110-90 win over the Knicks Saturday night at Madison Square Garden. Mack was one of eight Hawks, including three reserves, to score in double figures. The Hawks avenged a home loss to the Knicks just three days earlier.
“Jeff is the new coach of the Hawks,” Budenholzer joked when questioned why Teague sat out the final quarter. “He told me to leave Shelvin in the game so I’ve turned my coaching duties over to him. I’m Jeff’s assistant. I think it’s a great move on the entire team and organization’s part.”
The win snaps a five-game losing streak to the Knicks. The Hawks have scored at least 100 points in all but one game this season. The effort was aided greatly by the play of the bench.
The Hawks (6-4) used a 14-2 fourth-quarter run to take a 17-point advantage, 98-81, with just over four minutes remaining. Kyle Korver converted a four-point play as part of the run.
And the Hawks didn’t let up.
They pushed with lead to 20 points with a three-point play by DeMarre Carroll with 3:20 remaining.
Paul Millsap returned to the starting lineup with a double-double of 14 points and 13 rebounds. Jeff Teague (16 points), Korver (15), Mack (12), Al Horford (12), Mike Scott (11), Gustavo Ayon (10) and Carroll (10) were the other double-digit scorers. Mack had a double-double with 12 assists.
The Knicks (3-6) were led by Carmelo Anthony with 23 points.
“You have to be ready at all times,” Millsap said. “It’s one thing I learned early in my career. You never know when your name is going to be called. You never know what situation you are going to be in.”
Korver extended his 3-point streak to 83 games, six shy of tying NBA all-time record held by Dana Barros. Korver missed his first three attempts but connected with 4:06 left in the first quarter.
The Hawks took a 54-47 lead into the intermission after leading by as many as 12 points in the second quarter. The Hawks started the second quarter with a 12-1 run with all reserves –Mack, John Jenkins, Cartier Martin, Scott and Ayon on the floor. Ayon scored the first six points. The Knicks missed their first five shots in the period.
Ayon, who made his season debut Friday in a starting role, had six points, five rebounds, one assist and two steals in 10 first-half minutes.
“I saw that they were switching off the ball screen,” said Mack, who was two points shy of his career-high. “So I tried to come in and be aggressive. I’ve been watching Jeff out there working hard. I saw an opportunity for me to come in and do the same thing.”
The Hawks took an 11-point lead, 80-69, into the fourth quarter. Scott drained a 3-pointer at the buzzer to push the lead up to double-digits entering the final 12 minutes.
“We played with a lot of energy,” Scott said. “That is our job. Come off the bench and play with a lot of energy, defend, defensive rebound and play together offensively.”
Carroll dubbed he and Scott the ‘Lockdown Kings’ for their defensive effort. Carroll was largely responsible for defending J.R. Smith, who finished 3 of 18 from the floor. Millsap and Scott spent a great deal of time on Anthony, who shot 8 of 21 from the field.
“Defensively, that was the closest to a complete game that we’ve had,” Budenholzer said. “We’ve been talking about defense and talking about it and I think some of the work and some of the things we’ve been watching on film and working on in practice and shoot-arounds. You see a little bit of carryover. That is the most important thing for our group is to carry it over from the film sessions and the practices to the court.”
The Hawks next play at the Heat Tuesday in a game that has been picked up by NBA TV.
