Al Horford helps Atlanta Hawks beat New Jersey Nets 98-87
The Atlanta Hawks snapped their two-game losing streak by cruising past the New Jersey Nets 98-87 at Philips Arena in Atlanta on Saturday night.
Centre-forward Al Horford scored a team-high 23 points and pulled down 12 rebounds in the victory. Forward Josh Smith added 22 points and four rebounds while guard Jamal Crawford posted 18 points and six assists for Atlanta.
Joe Johnson chipped in with 12 points, while guard Kirk Hinrich registered 11 points and seven rebounds for the Hawks, who have won four of their last 10 games of the 2010-11 season.
Guard Anthony Morrow contributed a season-high 25 points for the Nets, who have lost their second consecutive game. Sasha Vujacic had 13 points while Kris Humphries and Johan Petro finished with 12 points apiece for New Jersey.
Match Analysis
The Nets went onto the court, shared the ball and scored the first basket of the contest. However, Atlanta responded strongly as they scored the next 19 points to take full control. The Hawks carried a 32-15 lead into the second quarter courtesy 10 points
from Crawford.
Atlanta extended their sizzling offensive play to the second quarter and outscored New Jersey 25-16, taking a 57-31 advantage at half time.
Hawks coach Larry Drew was pleased with his side’s performance in the first half. He said, "We really played our game that first half. We were pushing the ball. We were moving the ball. ... We were swinging the ball well."
He added, "It just seemed like everything was going right. We got some transition baskets. I just thought we played as good a first half offensively as we could and then defensively I thought we did a really good job."
The Nets continued to misfire from the field in the third quarter, which allowed the Hawks to carry an 82-61 lead into the final period. Johnson left the game early in the third with a sprained right thumb. Johnson did not return and watched rest the game
from the stands. He is expected to miss the Sunday’s match against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Leading by 21 points after three quarters, Atlanta maintained their double-digit lead through the fourth quarter to seal a much-needed victory.
New Jersey Nets guard Anthony Morrow thought that his team had been defensively weak in the entire game, which is something their rivals took full advantage of. Morrow said, "It was very tough. Defensively, we made some mistakes and they capitalised on them.
That is what a good team does. You can't have that kind of deficit."
Atlanta are in fifth place in the Eastern Conference with 41 victories this season. Their up-coming matches are no doubt very crucial ones if they are to make it into the play-offs.
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