You’re not a good playoff team until you win on the road.
by Tracy Weissenberg / @basketballista
The Hawks, coming off two losses at the Bradley Center, were back at Philips Arena, where they had won 14-straight games dating back to the regular season.
Rookie point guard Brandon Jennings had said it takes a road win to be a good Playoff team. Something’s got to give and unfortunately for the Hawks, it would be their home court advantage.
FIRST QUARTER
*Brandon Jennings comes out on fire, scoring 14 points and 12 straight at one point for the Bucks.
*Marvin Williams has the hot hand for the Hawks, scoring 9 points on 4-5 shooting.
*The teams are neck and neck throughout the first, shooting around 43 percent each. The quarter ends with the Bucks up 24-23.
SECOND QUARTER
*The scoring is balanced for the Bucks, except the starters can’t find their rhythm. Starters shoot 4-17 for the quarter, while the bench scores 9 of the 19 second quarter points on 3-4 field goals. Salmons scores 2 on 1-6 shooting, with 3 assists and 3 rebounds. Jennings scores 2 shooting 1-3.
*Al Horford and Jamal Crawford score 8 points each for the Hawks, who shoot 38 percent for the quarter. The Hawks score 10 of their 23 points in the paint.
HALFTIME
*The Hawks end the first half up 46-43. Both teams are even across the stat sheet, with the Bucks shooting 38 percent and the Hawks 41 percent. Each team has 23 rebounds, 8 assists, and 5 turnovers.
*Brandon Jennings leads all scorers with 16 points and Al Horford leads the Hawks with 12. I asked Horford before the game if the Hawks should try and establish him and Josh inside more. “Yup, I do,” he said, “we just have to take advantage of what the defense gives us, so you know I think that we’re at our best when we play inside-out.”
THIRD QUARTER
*Horford adds another 8 points for the Hawks, while Williams scores 9 points on 3-4 shooting.
*Salmons scores 7 for the Bucks on 3-5 shooting, while Jennings adds 4 on 2-7 field goals. The Bucks bench is efficient again with 7 points on 3-5 field goals.
*The Bucks shoot 47 percent and the Hawks 56 percent as the Hawks outscore the Bucks 23-18. The Hawks have scored 23 points in each of the first three quarters, leadin
g 69-61 entering the 4th.
FOURTH QUARTER
*Trailing 73-82, the Bucks call a time out with 4:09 remaining in the fourth quarter. The Bucks return to the court and stun the Hawks with a 14-0 run, putting them up 87-82 with 33 seconds left in the game. Salmons scored 8 of those 14 points.
*The Hawks try to respond with a Horford jumper to close the gap to 3. With 18 seconds to go, Mike Bibby fouls Jennings, who sinks both free throws.
*The Hawks would follow with a three—taken unexpectedly by Horford—to get the game within 2.
*Jennings is fouled again with 9 seconds remaining. With the opportunity to close out the game, Jennings hits both free throws with ease, looking as calm as he would at shootaround.
*Jamal Crawford misses a desperation three and Jennings fittingly grabs the last rebound of the game.
*The Bucks notch a 91-87 victory for their third straight win in the series. The Bucks shoot 15/18 free throws in the fourth quarter, while the Hawks do not attempt one.
POSTGAME
*It is very fitting for the Bucks to have their rookie shooting the free throws to ice the game since Jennings has shown that kind of composure all season. Jennings finishes with a team-high 25 points, Salmons has 19, and Luke Ridnour adds 15 points and 4 steals off the bench.
*Marvin Williams finishes with 22 points and Horford with 25, which are career Playoff-highs for both players.
*Joe Johnson had 13 points and fouled out with 2:15 left in the game. He had never fouled out in any of his previous 37 Playoff games.
*Before the game, Al Horford said the Hawks need to play with the same confidence both at home and on the road. “We got to have kind of like a road swagger,” he said. Facing elimination on Friday, it looks like the Hawks have no choice but to find it fast.
Read the SLAMonline Discussion Rules before posting.
Pingback: SLAM ONLINE | » Hot Topics