Jeff Teague steals the show as Atlanta Hawks rout New Orleans Hornets 94-72 - NBA Recap
New Orleans Hornets dismal run in the 2011-12 NBA season continued on Sunday night. Just hours ago, in what was their 20th outing of the season, the NBA owned franchise put up yet another terrible show and lost to Atlanta Hawks 94-72.
Jeff Teague, whose inclusion was in doubt after he injured his ankle in the Hawks last outing, opted to play and that proved to be a savvy decision indeed.
Teague marshalled the Hawks, matching his career high 24 points on 9 for 11 from the floor including a perfect 4 for 4 from outside the arc.
"I didn't really feel too much pain when I got out there," Teague said after the game. "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."
Reserve Willie Green dropped 16 points including 4-for-7 from downtown while Marvin Williams, 5 for 8 had from the floor including 3 for 4 from long range, for 14 points.
The Hawks were hot from beyond the arc and shot 12-for-23 from long range against the Hornets, who were led by Emeka Okafor's 13 points and 8 boards while Jarrett Jack and Greivis Vasquez both registered 10 points.
Hornets coach Monty Williams was extremely disappointed with the below par performance from his team at home and failing to control emotions, he exclaimed.
"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. We don't have enough talent to go out there and play one-on-one basketball."
Hornets struggled right from the word go and were already in trouble by the end of first frame, behind by 16 points 11-27. In the second frame they showed some urgency by carving a fierce 19-7 spurt, after scores were 15-33, to make it 34-40; however they failed to take advantage and only scored a single point in the remaining quarter. This helped Hawks to regain a double digit lead by the end of the first half.
Hornets however did not give up and scored quickly in the first 6 minutes of the third frame to ensure they remained in the hunt, slashing the deficit to only 5 points 48-53.
However, what followed next was a game deciding 23-4 burst by Hawks, capped by Green’s three, that pushed the Hornets completely out of the game.
To erase a 24 points deficit in the last quarter was almost an impossible task for Hornets and they gave up the fight midway through the frame to complete yet another disappointing loss.
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