Somebody call the MASH unit.
The Hawks lost their third starter in two days when Jeff Teague left Friday’s game against the Spurs in the second quarter with a left ankle sprain. He joined DeMarre Carroll (left hamstring strain) and Pero Antic (right ankle stress fracture) who were diagnosed Thursday.
The walking-wounded Hawks were no match for the Spurs as they fell behind by as many as 37 points en route to a 105-79 loss at Philips Arena. It was a season-low point total for the Hawks, easily worse than the 83 points they scored in a Jan. 10 loss at the Rockets.
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.
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.
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.
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. 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 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.
“We will continue to move forward with who we have,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said of the injuries before the game. “There has been a system put in place, defensively and offensively, that the whole group believes in and understands. We’ll keep playing ball.”
The Hawks begin a two-game road trip at the Bucks Saturday.
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