Atlanta Hawks crush the New Jersey Nets 106 – 70: NBA Recap
Atlanta Hawks have started their NBA quest in style.
Playing at the Prudential centre, their combined hustle, intensity and rock solid defence knocked over the New Jersey Nets 106-70.
Vladimir Radmanovic, Zaza Pachulia and Tracy McGrady all came off the bench late and contributed. Radmanovic led the Hawks with 17 points, Marvin Williams registered 14 points and 9 rebounds, Jeff Teague and Zaza both had 13 each
while Joe Johnson chipped in with 11 points.
"This was big," said McGrady, who added 12 points. "We knew that they played last night and we had to come out with fresh legs. We wanted to start out the season the right way, especially with the amount of games we have”
The Hawks defence was phenomenal, limiting the Nets to just 31 percent shooting from the field, including 23 percent in the first frame which allowed them to end the quarter with a mammoth 17 points lead.
"We can cause some problems for teams defensively," centre Al Horford said. "We have that ability to disrupt people. I think it helps a lot. Josh (Smith) is so quick and Marvin and I are so long. Guys can go flying around the floor
defending shots."
Hawks outclassed Nets in each and every other department as well including rebounds (51 to 36), assists (23 to 9), steals (11 to 5) and committed only 12 turnovers in contrast to Nets’ 18.
Rookie MaRshon Brooks paced the Nets with 17 points; Kris Humphries accumulated 11 points while Deron Williams had 10 points on a meagre 3 for 11 from the floor.
After finishing the first frame with a 17 points lead, 28-11, courtesy of late onslaught by Radmanovic, Hawks pushed their momentum into the next quarter. Completely dominating the second frame, they managed to acquire 22 points
lead 52-30, after Jeff Teague drilled a superb 3 with few seconds remaining in the first half.
Things got even worse for the Nets in the next two frames as the lead kept on mounting. Humphries and Williams were soon called to the bench by Avery Johnson and in their absence, the Nets failed stooped to a 39 point, 99-60, deficit
with just 3 minutes remaining.
Tags: