The Latest Victory By The Atlanta Hawks Was An Inspirational Effort
Feb 2, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) and Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) fight for a rebound and at Toyota Center. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
The Atlanta Hawks’ victory over the Houston Rockets on Thursday was impressive in a multitude of ways. How did they get it done?
On Thursday night the Atlanta Hawks played their seventh of sixteen nationally televised games this season, for what should be the city’s first of two humongous wins in Houston over the weekend. The Atlanta Falcons, who of course will play in just the franchise’s second Super Bowl this Sunday versus the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI, could learn a thing or two from the Hawks performance against the Rockets.
For his first return to the Toyota Center as a member of the Atlanta Hawks, where he played three seasons for the Houston Rockets, Dwight Howard set the tone early. He powered Mike Budenholzer’s team to an early 6-0 lead with a series of ally-oop dunks. As Howard scored 8 of the Hawks first 10 points on uncontested shots at the rim, he reminded everybody watching that the Rockets are coached by Mike D’Antoni, who is known for his lack of interest defensively.
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Houston would quickly catch up to Atlanta. however, taking a 15-13 lead midway through the first quarter. In a trend that would continue for the majority of the game, Atlanta shot a modest number of threes, going 3-for-7 from deep in the opening period. The Rockets, meanwhile, hoisted up a flurry of triples despite the troubles that they were having, making 3-of-12 for the quarter.
The fact that Budenholzer’s group gave up 32 points in the first 12 minutes, after jumping out to the early advantage, was very concerning. Though they were closing out and contesting their opponents attempts from behind the arc particularly well, Houston still managed to largely prosper offensively early in this contest. The Hawks are 18-3 this season during games that they have surrendered 100 points or less.
The Hawks wouldn’t go down without a fight.
Feb 2, 2017; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Rockets guard James Harden (13) is fouled by Atlanta Hawks center Dwight Howard (8) in the second half at Toyota Center. Atlanta Hawks won 113 to 108. Mandatory Credit: Thomas B. Shea-USA TODAY Sports
The Comeback Begins
With that in mind, the Hawks have enough talent on offense to be victorious in both the most important and critical upcoming games on their schedule. It is the inconsistency of effort and lack of discipline defensively that they have shown they are capable of for any game, really, and against even the most inferior opponent.
For this latest performance, the Hawks displayed a competitive spirit even more evident than they did in their 142-139, four-overtime slug-fest win against the New York Knicks on Sunday. Trailing by 20 points with 8:49 left in the game, it felt like they would have to chip away at the deficit with defensive stops one possession at a time, and rally back with three-point shots. They did that, and much more in a furious rally that stunned the crowd and left the Rockets cowering in fear.
The game reached a turning point in the early stages of the final quarter. After battling Malcolm Delaney for a loose ball during an aggressive burst of defense, one of the Rockets players, guard Patrick Beverley, decided that he would taunt Dwight Howard near center court while Houston held it’s big cushion. “You are all talk!”, the starting point guard shouted towards the former Rocket, while gesturing with his hand.
The Hawks did regain possession of the ball after it went out of bounds off of Beverly. As soon as Atlanta inbounded the ball to Delaney in the backcourt, Howard did not waste any time to retaliate. Instead of engaging the little man in his trash talk, or getting in a shoving match like you might expect, Dwight let his play do the talking. He came out on the right wing to set the most soul crushing pick on Beverly that I have ever seen.
The Rocket defender was minding his own business, covering Delaney as Malcolm charged with a live dribble towards the screener. In a moment of truth that the guy will never forget, Howard landed a brutal screen that left him flat on the court. He did not know that Howard was there, nor did he know what was coming. Atlanta’s back-up point guard set the trap, so that he would be going full speed at the point of impact.
The official, who must have a high tolerance for violence, did not call a foul even though he was looking right at it. It was a legal play, but generally when you see a player go flying to the ground as a result of a pick, you’d think that they’d call an offensive foul. That was the defining play that turned the tide in the Hawks favor for the remainder of the game.
Jan 4, 2017; Orlando, FL, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Tim Hardaway Jr. (10) points against the Orlando Magic during the second half at Amway Center. Atlanta Hawks defeated the Orlando Magic 111-92. Mandatory Credit: Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports
THJ Saves The Day
From that point on, Atlanta used strong team defense and rebounding, as well as a flame-throwing Tim Hardaway Jr. to ride a ridiculous wave of momentum to the win.
Hardaway Jr. scored 23 of his 33 points in the final quarter, matching the Rockets total for the 4th as a team. He hit one three-pointer from the left wing that rolled around the rim and in. Then he obviously entered into a zone, making another one from farther out that rained through the net without barely touching it. By this time, you could just tell he was on a mission to will the team to victory, as he was looking to create his own shot regardless of double teams.
Coach Mike Budenholzer must have liked what he was watching, since he trusted the same group of players that started the comeback to finish the job. Even if that meant that the Hawks leader, and only All-Star, Paul Millsap had to remain on the sideline for almost the whole final quarter, cheering with the rest of his teammates.
Hardaway wasn’t done. He then ran off a double screen to receive a pass once again on the left side of the floor, then dribbled towards the top of the key. He rose up to release his shot at the peak of his jump, between two defenders, and made another three, throwing it through the hoop with ease.
With less than two minutes to go, and the Hawks trailing by two points, Hardaway split a pair of defenders during a fast-break to convert a lay up through a foul. Dwight Howard was open for a dunk on the other side of the basket, but adrenaline willed Timmy to finish the play himself. He went on to make the ensuing free throw.
As Houston’s world continued to crumble around them, the Hawks rebounded another one of the plentiful misses from beyond the arc by the Rockets. They finished 13-for-51 from deep for 25.5 percent. In a moment when the Rockets seemed like they were expecting the Hawks to try to burn up all of the shot clock in an attempt to not lose the game, Hardaway made a clean break to the rim.
As the defenders scurried to recover, it was a little late. Hardaway was already lifting off for an epic throw down. In a last gasp effort to salvage their lackadaisical defensive possession, center Clint Capella came from the weak side to contest the dunk. Bless his heart, the poor guy received a posterization worse than the one Michael Jordan gave Patrick Ewing along that baseline.
Securing The Victory
With the Hawks holding on to a 111-108 lead, Trevor Ariza had a chance to tie things up. He took a three-pointer that was covered well in front of the Rockets bench. In the frantic pace of the live action, the shot actually appeared to go in. The fans in the crowd were either letting out a sigh of relief, or cheering widely at the assumed made shot.
All of the players thought the ball went in, as did most of the rest of the fans watching the telecast from home. But the referee did not collect the ball to initiate a change of possession under the basket. A lot of players on the court stood around and looked at each other scratching their heads. During the brief moment of confusion, Tim Hardaway Jr. rushed over to pick up the ball and tossed it to a wide open D’Andre’ Bembry, who started running to the other end of the court.
He put an exclamation point on another thrilling, if not bizarre, win for the Hawks, by dunking the assist through the goal as time expired. As replays showed, the shot did not go inside the cylinder of the rim, and through the basket. Instead it hit the backboard from a strange angle, and hit the net causing the illusion of a made shot. The officials did an outstanding job to notice this during live action to keep the ball in play. Everybody else was fooled.
Atlanta won the game 113-108. The way Hardaway Jr. took over the game was likened to what I have always noticed that Dwyane Wade had in his repertoire during important stages of contests that called for a dose of brilliance that only he could provide. There are few players that possess that explosive scoring ability, especially in clutch moments.
He will be a restricted free agent this summer. After his career high of 33 points in the Hawks completion of a season sweep of the Rockets (they’ve also defeated them 7 games in a row), as well as his other explosive performances this season, he will garner a larger contract. The question becomes whether or not the Hawks want to pay him what he is worth. I believe they should.