Hawks-Hornets Preview

By JEFF BARTL
Posted Jan 28 2012 5:10PM

As Joe Johnson goes, so go the Atlanta Hawks lately.

He'll look to continue his hot stretch as visiting Atlanta seeks to end a three-game losing streak to the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night.

Johnson's recent performances have helped the Hawks overcome a potentially disastrous injury to big man Al Horford, who has been out since tearing a pectoral muscle Jan. 11.

Atlanta (14-6) is 7-2 since Horford went down, with Johnson averaging 25.7 points in the victories and scoring no fewer than 23 in any of them. He's combined for 18 points in the two defeats.

Johnson scored 28 of his 30 points after halftime and hit a tying 3-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in regulation as the Hawks defeated Detroit 107-101 in overtime Friday.

Atlanta improved to 10-1 when Johnson scores at least 20. He said the tying shot at the end of the fourth quarter was tougher than it may have seemed.

"I jammed two fingers on my left hand," said Johnson, who went 1 for 9 from the field in the first half. "I couldn't really get my feeling back. I thought we were going to call a timeout, but nobody called a timeout, so I just did what I could to try to get a shot off."

Marvin Williams added 22 points for the Hawks, who trailed by as much as 12 in the second half and by six with less than a minute left.

"To me it's just an unbelievable win," coach Larry Drew said. "It was a gutsy performance. We were literally dead in the water."

It's likely the same feeling Drew had in the most recent meeting with the Hornets.

Johnson was held to nine points and Atlanta was embarrassed on their home floor, 100-59 last Jan. 21. It marked the fewest points the Hawks have scored since moving from St. Louis to Atlanta in 1968.

That New Orleans team looks vastly different from the one that will take the court Sunday, though it proved Friday it can be just as dangerous.

The Hornets (4-15) ended a nine-game losing streak by routing Orlando 93-67 with the help of Carl Landry's team-high 17 points off the bench.

Coach Monty Williams was proud of the effort from a rebuilding team which lost Chris Paul and David West in the offseason.

"Any time you hold team like that to 67 points, you get excited about the fight and character of our team," Williams said. "I hope our fans understand this transition hasn't been easy.

"We have a ways to go ... but when I'm in that locker room, in those huddles and the guys are supporting one another, out there fighting for each other, the way they played tonight, it makes the prospects for the future of our organization look bright."

Building for the future has become a priority, and the organization told Chris Kaman - who came over from the Los Angeles Clippers in the Paul trade - it is seeking trades for the veteran center.

Kaman has been inactive for the past two games and will no longer suit up for the Hornets, who plan to give youngsters Jason Smith, Gustavo Ayon and Al-Farouq Aminu more playing time.

"We had a conversation with Chris and expressed that the Hornets are going to go in a different direction," general manager Dell Demps said. "Chris has been the ultimate professional during this process and we thank him for the way he has handled the situation."

New Orleans has held Atlanta to less than 90 points in winning each of the last three meetings.

Teague scores 24 to lead Hawks past Hornets 94-72

By BRETT MARTEL
Posted Jan 29 2012 11:01PM

NEW ORLEANS (AP) Instead of giving his sore left ankle more rest, Jeff Teague decided to play and the point guard turned in one of the best games of his career.

Teague tied a career high with 24 points and the Atlanta Hawks won for the fourth time in five games, 94-72 over the New Orleans Hornets on Sunday night.

"I didn't really feel too much pain when I got out there," Teague said. "I might feel a little bit tomorrow or something, but we just played as a team. We were moving the ball well, guys were getting open shots and just knocking them down."

Willie Green added 16 points and Marvin Williams 14 for Atlanta, which can close its road trip with a 4-1 record by winning in Toronto on Tuesday night.

"It's just a road mentality," Teague said. "It's tough to beat somebody at their home, so you come in and you have to be fully focused and ready, and we're doing that."

The Hawks broke the game open with a 23-4 run during the last half of the third quarter, while New Orleans was in the midst of missing 12 straight shots. Green's 32-foot 3-pointer to end the period made it 76-52, and Atlanta's lead got as large as 29 in the fourth quarter as the Hawks handed the Hornets their most lopsided loss this season.

"I don't think we let them key in on anything. We switched it up with the play calling and things like that," Teague said. "When you're moving the ball and making shots like that, it's hard for anybody to play defense."

Emeka Okafor scored 13 points for New Orleans, which was as close as 53-48 on Jarrett Jack's free throws with 5:44 to go in the third before Atlanta took over.

Jack finished with 10 points in the Hornets' 16th loss in 18 games.

The Hornets, who have lost 10 times by single digits, have been competitive in most of their games and had hoped they were turning the corner after a lopsided victory over Orlando on Friday night, which snapped a nine-game skid. Instead, they responded with one of their worst games of the season, shooting only 37.5 percent (27 of 72).

"Frustrating. Embarrassing. It's not what the fans deserve. It's not what the coaches deserve," Hornets forward Jason Smith said. "We came out sluggish. We didn't play hard. We didn't play defense."

The Hornets shot 5 of 19 in the first quarter and 5 of 20 in the third. They went from 7:06 of the third quarter to 9:35 of the fourth without hitting a field goal (0 for 12) and turned the ball over six times during that stretch.

"It's certainly one of those games you have to flush the toilet on and get ready for the next one, but I was really disappointed in our effort, especially at home with a day in between games," Hornets coach Monty Williams said. "We don't have enough talent to go out there and play one-on-one basketball. We certainly don't have enough talent to go out there and not play with effort. That was the frustrating part."

The Hawks shot 44 percent (36 of 82) and went 12 of 23 on 3-pointers, with Teague hitting all four he attempted. Marvin Williams was 3 of 4 from long range. Atlanta also outrebounded New Orleans 42-36.

Joe Johnson and Ivan Johnson each scored nine points for the Hawks.

Teague left Atlanta's previous game at Detroit on Friday with a sprained left ankle, but he returned to the starting lineup Sunday and had an immediate effect on the game.

Atlanta raced to a 12-2 lead with Marvin Williams and Teague each hitting 3s and Teague adding a 16-foot jumper. Teague then hit back-to-back 3s on his way to 11 first-quarter points and the Hawks took a 21-point lead barely 9 minutes into the game when Kirk Hinrich's layup made it 27-6.

Green called Teague's performance on the sore ankle "very impressive."

"We've been constantly on him about just being aggressive and tonight he did that," Green said. "He set the tone for us. He does a good job of getting guys involved and sometimes he has to be aggressive. We just want him to be able to do all of that and that's a lot to ask, but he's just getting better."

The Hornets clawed back into the game with an 11-0 run in the second quarter during which Okafor scored five points and capped the surge with a three-point play on an inside basket to make it 33-26.

Williams' second 3 of the game interrupted the spurt before Okafor scored inside and Gustavo Ayon hit a reverse layup to cut it to 36-30. Atlanta then built its lead back to double digits, closing out the half with a 6-1 mini-run capped by Johnson's driving floater from the lane to make it 46-35.

Notes: Greivis Vasquez tied a career high with eight assists. ... During New Orleans' 11-0 run in the second quarter, Green hit a jumper at the shot-clock buzzer that was initially ruled good and overturned on replay. ... The Hornets' 21-point deficit in the first quarter was at that point the largest deficit for New Orleans this season until it got worse in the second half. ... New Orleans and Atlanta meet only once in this lockout-shortened season. ... The Hornets' worst loss coming in was by 16 points at Sacramento.

Notebook: Hawks 94, Hornets 72

By Larry Holder, for NBA.com
Posted Sunday January 29, 2012 10:38PM

THE FACTS: Point guard Jeff Teague served as the catalyst, scoring a game high and tying a career high with 24 points as the Atlanta Hawks defeated the New Orleans Hornets 94-72 on Sunday night in the New Orleans Arena. Atlanta has won two straight games, while the Hornets have lost 16 of their last 18 games.

QUOTABLE: "I'm most proud about this win is the fact that we maintained our composure. At the start of the third quarter, they started with two quick baskets and I called a timeout for us just not to panic. We came back out of that timeout, put our foot on the gas and things kind of took off."
--Hawks coach Larry Drew

THE STAT: 11. The number of points the Hornets scored in the first quarter. It's the lowest scoring output in a quarter by New Orleans this season. The Hornets have struggled to score points all season. It's the third time the Hornets have scored less than 80 points and the 72-point output is a season low for New Orleans.

TURNING POINT: The Hawks came out of the gate on fire. They outscored the Hornets 27-6 to open game. New Orleans managed to creep back into the game, but Atlanta put together another big run outscoring the Hornets 23-4 to end the third quarter.

HOT: Hawks reserve guard Willie Green got back at his former team that basically ignored him during the free agency period. Green, who was a key bench piece last season for the Hornets, took it out on the Hornets as he scored 16 points off the bench for Atlanta on 6 of 11 shooting.

NOT: Hornets forward Carl Landry was expected to play starter-type minutes now that center Chris Kaman has been permanently sidelined until the Hornets can trade Kaman away. That didn't happen, and he probably didn't deserve the minutes he saw, considering he was scoreless.

GOOD MOVE: Teague entered Sunday night's game questionable to play after injuring his ankle Friday night in Detroit and missed the second half. Teague played anyway against the Hornets and the move undoubtedly paid off with Joe Johnson and Josh Smith both having off games.

QUOTABLE II: "Surprised? No. I get a feel for our team the way we come out in the first quarter. I thought the effort in the first quarter was kind of there, but not really assertive. ... I thought we played desperate against Orlando. I thought we came out tonight as if we could kind of show up and if they played well, we'd start to play hard. We're in no position to do that with the talent that we have on our team. ... (General manager) Dell (Demps), (team president) Hugh (Weber) and I are getting a read for who is going to be here in the future. ... I saw guys hiding from pressure tonight."
--Hornets coach Monty Williams

NOTABLE: The Hawks lit it up from 3-point land as they went 12-of-23 for 52.2 percent. Teague went 4-of-4 and Marvin Williams went 3-of-4 leading to his 14 points. ... Hornets center Emeka Okafor scored a team-high points. Only Jarrett Jack and Greivis Vasquez scored in double digits as both had 10 points.

UP NEXT: For the Hawks, Tuesday @ Toronto, Thursday vs. Memphis, Saturday vs. Phoenix. For the Hornets, Monday @ Miami, Wednesday vs. Phoenix, Thursday @ San Antonio.

• Hawks: Horford
• Hornets: Gordon

• Hawks: --
• Hornets: --

• Lead Changes: 0
• Times Tied: 0

• Arena: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
• Officials: #38 Michael Smith, #23 Jason Phillips, #34 Kevin Cutler
• Attendance: 14962
• Duration: 2:04