Hawks lose Teague, drubbed by Spurs (updated)

The Hawks were already without Al Horford (right torn pectoral) and John Jenkins (lower back). Of course, the Spurs were without three starters of their own in Danny Green, Kawhi Leonard and Tiago Splitter. They still had Tim Duncan and Tony Parker and a bench that scored 67 points.

“Just keep fighting,” said Lou Williams of the Hawks’ mindset moving forward. “I think the two years that I’ve been here we haven’t been healthy yet and we’ve been able to fight through it. So, this is no different. Jeff goes out and hopefully it’s a minor thing where we can get through it within the next week. Guys have to put their best games together.”

While the Hawks did not want to use injuries as an excuse, Spurs coach Gregg Popovich conceded the difficulty of playing without frontline players.

“(The Hawks) really had a bad night and they had too many guys hurt,” Popovich said. “It’s tough to compete that way. Even when Al (Horford) went down they stuck with it, and everybody filled in and did a good job. Now this happens to Jeff (Teague) and (DeMarre) Carroll. There are too many good teams and too much talent in the NBA to lose guys of that caliber.”

The Hawks (22-20, 15-7 home) had a two-game win streak snapped and lost their seventh straight to the Spurs.

Paul Millsap had 15 points and eight rebounds. Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 111 games with a 3-pointer on his only made basket.

The Spurs (33-10, 16-3 road) were led by Boris Diaw with a game-high 21 points. Patty Mills added 18 points, including six 3-pointers. Duncan finished with 17 points and 16 rebounds before sitting the fourth quarter. He joined three other starters and sixth-man Manu Ginobili watching the final 12 minutes.

The Hawks struggled from the start. They missed their first seven shots, while committing two turnovers, and never recovered. With 3:36 left in the first quarter, the Hawks were shooting 3 of 14 with six turnovers. By the end of the opening period, they were shooting 6 of 20 with nine turnovers and trailed 27-14.

The Hawks trailed 55-34 at the intermission, tying a season-low for points in a half, after falling behind by as many as 25 points in the second quarter.

Coach Mike Budenholzer was clearly frustrated with the way the game was officiated. He was assessed a technical foul in the second quarter. When asked following the game if he was unhappy with the way the game was called, his simply answered “No comment.”

Budenholzer did give some insight into his displeasure when recounted the Hawks’ poor start.

“Paul was attacking the basket and couldn’t get anything to go,” Budenholzer said. “We couldn’t get to the free-throw line. They were executing and making shots. I think a lot of the credit goes to them. If we could have hit a couple buckets, particularly when we were attacking and getting to the basket, that would have helped us stem the tide a little bit.”

By the end of the third quarter, the Hawks trailed 84-56 as former Hawks draft pick Diaw hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.

It was that kind of night for the Hawks. Want more? The Spurs’ Cory Joseph had two baskets just putting back his teammates’ air balls from underneath the basket.

Teague left with 4:51 left in the second quarter after scoring nine first-quarter points. He helped himself off the floor after a fall but immediately limped straight to the locker room. The Hawks announced he would not return and his status was unknown immediately following the game.

The Hawks will likely turn to Shelvin Mack to start in place of Teague. Williams and Dennis Schroder will have to contribute.

“It’s just like when any of our guys get injured,” Budenholzer said. “You feel for the player. He wants to be there for us. He wants to be there for his teammates. He is a big part of what we do.

“It’s an opportunity for Shelvin and Lou and Dennis to take that responsibility that Jeff has as our starting point guard and lead us and direct us.”

The Hawks begin a two-game road trip at the Bucks Saturday and play at the Thunder Monday.