The Hawks have begun the post-Al Horford era.
It did not get off to a good start. It got off to a great finish.
The Hawks fell behind by 14 points before a late rally to score a 118-116 overtime victory over the Bobcats Saturday night at Philips Arena.
Lou Williams hit 10-of-10 free throws in overtime, the Hawks’ final points on five straight possessions, as the Hawks built a six-point lead. The final two came between a pair of 3-pointers by the Bobcats to cut into the lead before time ran out.
“I just really wanted to concentrate on making free throws,” Williams said. “We decided to have a Kiss-Cam during the first free throw I shot (in regulation) and everybody cheered while I was in the motion of shooting. I didn’t want that to happen again. I was just focused on making shots.”
The Hawks had to rally late to force overtime, their third in as many games.
Al Jefferson scored in the paint for the Bobcats and after a Jeff Teague miss, Kemba Walker made a free throw to put the Bobcats up 99-96 with 17.9 seconds left in regulation. Paul Millsap scored and the Hawks fouled Walker again. He made both free throws for a 101-98 lead with 11.8 seconds remaining.
Pero Antic, who missed his four previous 3-point attempts, scored from long range, off one foot in the corner, with 3.1 seconds left to tie the game at 101-101. Gerald Henderson missed at the buzzer to force overtime.
“It was Kyle (Korver),” Antic said. “He found me. They covered him all game good. They know that he is a hell of a shooter, that we are going to go to him at the end. They covered him. He found me. I just let it go. I let (six) go before and I missed all of them. All good, normal shots and I made the difficult one. I’m happy for that to continue. A win is a win. It’s good to win these types of game because it’s going to lift the team up.”
While the Hawks have several options on in-bound plays, coach Mike Budenholzer admitted that the Antic shot was not one of them. He in-bounded the ball before getting it back in the opposite side.
“They defended everything extremely well,” Budenholzer said. “Credit to them. It’s just one of those things in basketball. Sometimes you get a lucky bounce, you get a lucky shot. Pero is a heck of a player. He’s a heck of a shot maker. He does some unique things. We were fortunate.”
The Hawks (17-13, 12-4 home) won their second straight to move a season-best four games over .500. They have won five of the past six games and have won 10 straight over the Bobcats.
Millsap led the Hawks with a double-double of a season-high 33 points and 13 rebounds. Williams had 28 points, Teague had 20 points and Mike Scott finished with 18 points, including a 3-pointer in overtime.
Kyle Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 99 games with a 3-pointer. He moved past Josh Smith (267) for eighth on Hawks’ all-time list, done in 104 games.
“Not really a conscious effort (to be more active offensively),” Millsap said. “I had some good looks. I was able to penetrate. Guys hit shots for us. The key was guys coming off the bench and doing a good job for us.”
The Hawks have scored 100 points or more in 12 of the past 13 games. In the past seven games, the Hawks are averaging 118 points.
The Bobcats (14-17, 6-7 road) dropped their second straight game. Jefferson led the way with 24 points and 23 rebounds.
Horford was lost with a torn right pectoral muscle Thursday. He will likely miss the rest of the season with the injury. It took a while for the Hawks to get used to playing without their star.
“I don’t think it has really hit everybody yet,” Millsap said. “Everybody is still a little shocked by the situation. You can tell. Al is a big part of what we do. Once we shook it off, guys went out there and played ball.”
The Hawks trailed by 14 points before using a 15-4 run between the third and fourth quarters to tie the game, 81-81, on a 3-pointer by Williams with 9:45 remaining. Scott answered a Bobcats basket with a 3-pointer and the Hawks had their first lead since midway through the second quarter.
The run to get back in the game did not surprise Bobcats coach Steve Clifford.
“They have established themselves as clearly the third-best team in the East,” Clifford said before the game.
The Bobcats took a 50-45 lead at halftime as the Hawks struggled in the second quarter. The Hawks shot just 26 percent (5 of 19) in the period. The Bobcats took a 10-point lead with a 14-1 run. The Hawks made just 3 of 16 shots during the stretch.
The Bobcats pushed their lead to 14 points in the third quarter before the Hawks’ run made it a ball game.
The Hawks start a two-game road trip at the Magic Sunday. They play the Celtics Tuesday afternoon. DeMarre Carroll, who played despite a right thumb sprain, will not travel to remain in Atlanta for treatment.
About the Author
