They call them Hawks cycles, those times when the Hawks get it going on both ends of the court, the times when defense leads into offense that leads into even more defense.
Those times like the last 16 1/2 minutes of the first half Friday night.
The Hawks won again Friday, won again easily, 98-75 over the Brooklyn Nets. But on a night when their coach started out speaking about how much better they still need to be, the story was how good the Hawks looked and for how long.
They trailed 16-10 after a typical slow start, but after Mike Budenholzer called time out, his team responded with a dominating stretch that lasted right through to halftime. The Hawks couldn’t miss a shot, and wouldn’t let the Nets get a shot.
If they can be much better than they were in Friday’s second quarter, well, then this really could be a special season.
“The energy and activity was there,” Budenholzer said, without at all back-tracking from his pregame statement that the Hawks “need to get a lot better — at both ends of the court.”
As good as the Hawks have been in their five-game winning streak, Budenholzer’s players agree with him. They look at a schedule that hasn’t yet been as challenging as it will get, and see the need for improvement, too.
“We haven’t even come close [to their best],” DeMarre Carroll said. “It’s just a matter of time. [The way they’re playing now] isn’t bad, but I think it can get better.”
Carroll can’t be much better than he was in the second quarter Friday, when he made all five of his shots, four of them from 3-point range. He finished the game with a team-high 18 points, one more than Paul Millsap.
The Hawks made 12 of their 18 shots in the second quarter, but they were more impressed with the effort at the defensive end. Budenholzer credited his bench players, who turned things around with the way they stopped the Nets in the final 4 1/2 minutes of the first quarter, but the effort continued right through the first half — and turned the second half into a 24-minute coast to victory.
“That’s what we do,” said Kyle Korver, who was barely needed on offense on this night and took only five shots. “That’s the blueprint. Our second quarter was great, the defense even more than the offense.
“We talk about Hawks cycles, and how long can we stretch a Hawks cycle.”
They stretched it as long as they needed to Friday, but the Hawks still believe they can be better.
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