It wasn’t pretty, for the first three quarters especially, but the Atlanta Hawks started off in controlling fashion and ended the game in, well, controlling fashion defeating the New Orleans Pelicans 100-91 Friday night.
Both teams shot poorly to start off the game, but Jeff Teague kept the Hawks afloat scoring 8 points in the first with a variety of close looks around the hoop. It was pretty clear from the get-go that Teague would be leading the Hawks once again if they wanted to take down Anthony Davis’s Pelicans. Austin Rivers of New Orleans felt the same way, but things went the other way as Rivers went 0-for-5 in the first, three of those misses being layups, which would would be the story of the night for the Pellies until the fourth quarter.
Somehow, the Pellies shot even worse in the second quarter mustering up just 13 points to end the half with just 28 points and a 13-point deficit. The second quarter is where it became apparent that something was up with The Brow as he missed several bunnies around the rim. Davis just looked really out of it as he missed both of his shots in the second quarter and you’d forget he was even on the floor during the majority of the Pellies offensive possessions. (I’m not sure how much of that was Tyreke Evans diving into the lane searching for contact every other possession, and how much of it was Davis just not feeling well.) Still, Davis and Omer Asik made a point to make Paul Millsap’s life a living hell on defense, and they did. What ended up sticking out to me in this quarter was Shelvin Mack’s airball three that resulted in head coach Mike Budenholzer immediately pulling him for Korver. (Note: I didn’t see who shot the airball originally, but I turned to my buddy and bet that it was Mack and then looked up at the replay and just shook my head. I think it’s worth mentioning, too, that Mack was seen from again after that shot.)
The Pelicans came out in the second half strong outscoring the Hawks 23-21 with Davis and Jrue Holliday starting to get into a rhythm with Evans and Rivers doing Evans-and-Rivers-like things scattered throughout. You know like missing long jumpers and attacking without the basketball without a plan. (Kind of like how Jack Shephard got in Lost whenever he tried to go after Michael. You just kept asking yourself, “What are you doing?”).
The Pellies had a lot of good looks in this game, but missed a bunch of them, which is why the 91 points is a bit deceiving from the Hawks perspective. The Hawks played well, defensively, but Ryan Anderson and Rivers had a lot of open looks that just didn’t fall, while Davis missed a lot of easy buckets he doesn’t often miss around the rim. Still, as a unit the Hawks did enough to keep the Pellies at bay so they didn’t go on too big of a run heading into the fourth.
Both teams exploded in the fourth quarter scoring a combine 78 points. New Orleans scored just 51 in the previous third quarter combined. Salmons, Anderson and Holiday got hot from beyond the arc, but Carroll iced the game with a 3-pointer with 3:42 left to put the Hawks back up 10. That 10-point margin stayed consistent for the rest of the game with the Hawks winning by nine to win another big home game before taking on the reeling Charlotte Hornets tonight.
Notes:
1) Austin Rivers Forever:
2) Horford and Millsap have to start helping Teague consistently at some point, right? RIGHT?
3) This game did nothing to help me understand how this Pelicans team was fourth in ORtg coming into this game. Nothing.
4) Teams are totally fine with Kent Bazemore hanging out around the perimeter.
5) Not sure why we only saw four minutes of Mike Scott with how poorly Millsap played, especially in the turnover department (Paul had four, but it felt like more watching live).
6) Teague’s confidence is the highest I’ve ever seen it. He wasn’t timid to attack Asik or Davis all night long and really just had a dominant command of the floor. It was clear Teague is the Hawks’ most valuable player right now, but it’s working.
7) I feel like Korver is 2-for-56 from 3 since he started wearing that shooting sleeve. It needs to go.
