When Josh Smith is in the right frame of mind, meaning attack the basket and not settling for perimeter shots, the Atlanta Hawks are a difficult team to beat.
In fact, when Smith scores at least 20 points, the team is undefeated.
They improved to 11-0 in such situations as Smith scored 30 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to defeat the Oklahoma City Thunder — the team with the NBA’s best record coming into the game — 97-90 Saturday night.
It was an unlikely win as Atlanta continued to play without key players due to injuries, but the play of Smith was too much for Serge Ibaka and the Thunder to handle.
From Chris Vivlamore of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: “The Hawks played without leading scorer Joe Johnson and reserve guard Willie Green and lost Tracy McGrady to a knee injury in the first quarter. After losing a double-digit third-quarter lead, the Hawks used an 11-4 run to start the fourth quarter. The run was punctuated by Josh Smith’s monster dunk over the Thunder’s Serge Ibaka that brought Philips Arena to its collective feet. His dunk on the ensuing possession ignited the crowd further and gave the Hawks an 87-79 lead with 4:41 to play. Smith’s 3-pointer with 2:01 remaining kept the Hawks lead at four, 92-88, after the Thunder had pulled within one. His hook gave the Hawks a five-point lead, 95-90, with a minute to play. Smith scored 13 of the final Hawks’ 15 points on his way to a team-high 30 points. He also grabbed three straight rebounds as the Hawks stopped the Thunder down the stretch. Smith’s 12 rebounds gave him his 18th double-double of the season… It was the second consecutive win for the Hawks (22-15) after losing nine of 13 games. They snapped a four-game losing streak to the Thunder (29-8), who had a seven-game win streak snapped. Jeff Teague added 16 points, and Zaza Pachulia and Kirk Hinrich had 10 each for the Hawks. Kevin Durant, the NBA’s second-leading scorer, finished with a game-high 35 points for the Thunder — 14 coming from the free-throw line. Russell Westbrook, the league’s fifth leading scorer, finished with 25 points.
When the Thunder lose games, there is always a common theme: turnovers. In five of their last six losses, the team has turned the ball over at least 17 times, including 21 times or more in four of those contests.
From Darnell Mayberry of The Oklahoman: “It was the first possession of the game. Just 13 seconds had ticked off the game clock. There couldn’t have been a more telling beginning. The Thunder dropped a 97-90 decision to Atlanta on Saturday inside Philips Arena because, once again, Oklahoma City couldn’t take care of the basketball. Twenty-one turnovers was the final tally. And a short-handed Hawks squad playing without leading scorer Joe Johnson turned those into 22 points. Eight Thunder players had at least one turnover. Seven had at least two. That’s why Oklahoma City left Atlanta with its seven-game winning streak in the rearview mirror. “We got to fix it,” Brooks said. “We keep talking about it. We’re working on it. But we got to figure out that because it’s going to be hard to win night in and night out the way we turn it over.” The Thunder entered the night averaging a league-worst 16.75 turnovers. Saturday marked the 10th time the Thunder finished with at least 20 turnovers. “We are an attack team. We are an aggressive team. I understand that. But we still have to be solid with our decisions,” Brooks said. “It’s unacceptable having 20 turnovers in an NBA game.” The biggest problem was that the turnovers snowballed into selfishness. Sound play and selfless passing was quickly replaced with myriad isolations and mounting ineffectiveness. The Thunder finished with a season-low 11 assists, a shockingly low number even for a team that ranks fourth-to-last in the category, but a tell-tale total that displays precisely how OKC got away from trusting the system.”
Despite all the gaffs, the Thunder still had a chance to win the game down only by five with about a minute remaining, but Durant came up short on a variety of attempts and ended the fourth quarter 3-of-10 shooting.
Across the country, another power forward was making noise near his hometown as Kevin Love scored a season high 42 points and grabbed 10 rebounds to help the Timberwolves defeat the Trail Blazers 122-110.
It was a much needed breakout game for Love as he shot 15-of-27 from the field after an atrocious five-game stretch where he shot 29-of-97, just under 30% from the field.
It was a homecoming night of sorts for several members of the Timberwolves. For Minnesota, defeating Portland was not only a long-time coming, it also shifted the standings in the Western Conference.
From Jerry Zgoda of Star Tribune: “By doing so, the Wolves not only ended a 16-game losing streak against the Blazers that dates to March 2007 when Kevin Garnett called Minnesota home, but it also moved them to a 19-19 record and past Portland in the chase for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot. Playing just a couple of long outlet passes away from where he grew up in Lake Oswego, Ore., Love scored 42 points… The Wolves finished this four-game trip the way they began it in Los Angeles against the Clippers, by winning with a decisive fourth quarter that once again featured rookie Derrick Williams’ timely contributions as well as Love and Martell Webster, two players with Portland connections on a night filled with them for the Wolves. Williams scored nine of his 15 points in a fourth quarter when the Blazers fought back from an eight-point deficit late in the third quarter and tied the score at 84, only to watch the Wolves reel off the next 11 points for a 95-84 lead that told the outcome. Love provided the final four points in that burst, punctuating an evening when he made five three-pointers and repeatedly punished the rim by rolling to the hoop to score on slams. Webster scored a season-high 21 points off the bench on a night when he, Love, Adelman and assistant coaches Terry Porter and Bill Bayno came back to the city they either once called or still call home.”
While good vibes were all around the Timberwolves, Portland hopelessly dropped their third consecutive game despite solid contributions from a number of players. At this rate, the Blazers may just blow it all up by the trade deadline.
From Joel Odom of The Oregonian: “Perhaps Gerald Wallace’s effort was the highlight for the Blazers. His 10 points, five rebounds and four steals in the second quarter helped the Blazers back into the game after trailing 40-28 after the first quarter. Portland led briefly and was within 61-60 at the half. The Blazers kept things close through the third quarter and the game was knotted at 84-84 early in the fourth. But then the Timberwolves used an 11-0 run to pull ahead for good as Love scored 13 points in the quarter and Minnesota scored 38 total. Nicolas Batum led the Blazers with 29 points, and Wallace added 25 points and 14 rebounds. Jamal Crawford pitched in 23 points on a night LaMarcus Aldridge managed just 14 points and was bested by fellow All-Star Love before Aldridge fouled out with 4:29 to play.”
Elsewhere…
- Dirk Nowitzki has put his early season struggles behind him as he scored a season high 40 points in just under 29 minutes to carry the Mavericks to a 102-96 victory over the Jazz. The win stopped a four-game skid for Dallas. Despite being down by as much as 23 in the fourth, Utah managed to fight back behind Paul Millsap’s 24 points to cut the deficit to five, but Nowitzki was simply too much to handle down the stretch. Lamar Odom returned from a four-game hiatus instead of being assigned to the D-League as originally scheduled.
- The Wizards barely held on to defeat the visiting Cavaliers 101-98 in a nail-biter that ended on a missed 3-point attempt by Anthony Parker. Jordan Crawford caught fire to score 31 points including five 3-pointers and John Wall added 24 point, five rebounds and five assists. Antawn Jamison had another monster game with 29 points in the losing effort while Kyrie Irving led a spirited fourth quarter comeback with 20 points. The Wizards ended a six-game skid while the Cavaliers lost for the fifth straight time.
- The Magic swept the season series 4-0 against the Bucks with a 114-98 victory. Dwight Howard dominated with 28 points and 14 rebounds despite missing eight-of-14 free throws while Hedo Turkoglu paced the team with 16 points and nine assists. Orlando caught fire from beyond the arc, going 14-of-27. Despite 27 points from Brandon Jennings, Milwaukee has now lost seven of their last nine games.
- The Pacers dominated the Hornets 102-84, leading by as many as 30 points. After going on a five-game skid, Indiana has won six straight for the first time in seven years and are doing it in Heat style, winning by an average of 17.5 points. Danny Granger led six players in double figures with 20 points. The Hornets were clearly tired, playing their fourth game in five nights.
- A one point game after the third quarter turned into a quick blowout in the fourth as a combination of efficient offense and lockdown defense led to a Grizzlies victory over the Pistons, 100-83. Marc Gasol and O.J. Mayo scored 17 a piece to lead seven players in double figures as the team shot an efficient 49% from the field while holding Detroit to 38% shooting. Memphis has now won 10 of their last 12, including four straight.