Record Breaking Night for the Atlanta Hawks

The Hawks maintained their focus during the second half. In the 4th quarter, they continued to play cohesively with lots of energy and enthusiasm.

(PRWEB) March 9, 2006 -- The odds were against the Hawks Tuesday night when they hosted the Golden State Warriors for their last match up this season. The Warriors claimed a seven-game consecutive winning streak against the Hawks for the past three seasons. Baron Davis’ return to the starting lineup, after missing seven games due to an ankle injury, also added fire to the Hawk’s “underdog” title. However, the Warriors played a totally different team than their last match up back in November when they stumped the Hawks by 25 points.

The 1st quarter started out good for the Hawks, but after Jason Richardson blocked Josh Smith’s 2-pointer 8 minutes into the game, the Hawks began to slide down hill. A 3-pointer by Davis, a steal by Dunleavy, two consecutive dunks by Troy Murphy and Richardson, another shot block by Murphy and 3-pointer by Richardson (all within 1.5 minutes) gave the Warriors a 12 point lead. Joe Johnson contributed 17 of his career high 42 points, but the team still looked defeated.

It look liked the 2nd quarter was going to be a repeat of the 1st until almost 2.5 minutes before the half. Al Harrington, made a 3-point jump shot and spurred a comeback by the Hawks who were trailing the Warriors by 12. The Warriors only added 2 points to the board in those last couple of minutes. Josh Smith ended the half in a big fashion when he hit a 31’ 3-pointer at the buzzer. The score: 54-52 Warriors.

Hawks Forward Josh Smith (#5) commented “We are learning to play together as a young team and getting to know each other. We are having fun and starting to relax.” This was very obvious as the Hawks soared over the Warriors, beating them 113 – 106.

After the game, Head Coach Mike Woodson reemphasized the fact that the Hawks are the youngest team in the NBA, but he also added that, “they are getting better…cannot stop now.”

Nicole Wallace, FTC Publications Sports

Genese Bobo, FTC Publications Sports

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