Buddy Gizzard of Hawks Hoop: “The Hawks have to hope that the ownership situation gets resolved soon. It appears as if the Hawks may not win another close game as long as the current ownership group remains in possession of the franchise. After losing by a single basket in San Antonio, largely thanks to a 38-11 free throw differential favoring the Spurs, the Hawks finished off the current road trip in Charlotte by losing on a world-class flop by former Hawk Marvin Williams. Mike Scott was 1-for-7 from the field until he hit a corner three off an inbounds play, poorly guarded by Kemba Walker, to tie the game at 110-110 with three seconds remaining in overtime. That forced a second overtime where Al Horford and Al Jefferson traded baskets like heavyweights exchanging body blows. A pair of Horford elbow jumpers kept the Hawks close before Pero Antic calmly sank a 3-pointer to tie it at 119-119 with 1:06 remaining in the second overtime.”
Carroll Rogers of the AJC: “Well, the Hawks’ domination over the Hornets here had to end somehow, and it couldn’t have possibly ended wilder than it did on Friday night. Charlotte’s Lance Stephenson, a newcomer to the series with the newly-renamed Hornets, banked in a 30-foot 3-point shot that rattled in at the buzzer to send the crowd at Time Warner Arena into a frenzy after a 122-119 double overtime win. The Hawks’ streak of six straight wins over the Hornets in Charlotte – and only their second loss in the past 15 meetings between these two teams – ended with Stephenson on top of the scorer’s table in full primal scream.”
Brad Rowland of Peachtree Hoops: “The Atlanta Hawks suffered an utterly brutal defeat on Friday night in Charlotte, but there is no rest for the weary in the NBA, and that is never more accurate than in this spot. The Hawks host the New York Knicks at Philips Arena less than 24 hours after than 58-minute extravaganza, but on the bright side, New York also played on Friday, and they have a longer distance to travel coming from the Big Apple. While the Hawks are a somewhat disappointing 2-3 on the season, the Knicks are 2-4 and scuffling in their own right after three consecutive losses. New York’s focus will always be Carmelo Anthony, and it will be interesting to see how Mike Budenholzer deploys his wing defenders (i.e. DeMarre Carroll and Thabo Sefolosha) against one of the league’s best scorers. Depth could come in handy for the Hawks here after Friday’s marathon, and that could result in additional time for Sefolosha, who played only 28 minutes against 40 for Carroll.”
