Hawks 118 Magic 101

Box Score

Positives

• 20 points (2-3 on three-pointers) and 4 assists from Acie Law IV
• 17 points on 9 shots from Maurice Evans
• 11 points and 6 rebounds from Zaza Pachulia in 19 minutes
• 8 points (3-4 FGA, 2-2 FTA) and 3 rebounsd from Solomon Jones in 12 minutes.
• Marvin Williams made 1 of 2 three-point attemtps

Negatives

• Marvin Williams was 1-5 on two-point attempts and had just 3 rebounds in 27 minutes
• Flip Murray scored 6 points on 7 shot attempts
• Quoting Bronn from the game thread: "1) Why is Josh Smith playing 31 minutes in a preseason game while Randolph Morris plays only 1:52?
  2) Josh Smith: 2-for-7 jumpshooting. Not promising right now.
  3) Any reason why we didn’t Othello Hunter and Frank Robinson didn’t see the floor?"

Disclaimer: Positives and negatives are derived from performances in a pre-season game and should not be taken too seriously no matter how much importance the head coach says he places on the outcome.

From the AP:

Maurice Evans, who left as a free agent last summer, scored 17 points and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Orlando Magic 118-101 in the preseason opener for both teams.

"(The Magic) didn't make any attempt to re-sign me,'' Evans said. "I really thought we had something special there so I was disappointed.''

Evans, with the help of fellow reserve Acie Law, keyed a 45-point third quarter for the Hawks. The pair combined for 20 points in that span as the Hawks turned a 51-49 halftime deficit into a 94-81 lead.

Sekou Smith (game story):

Just before tip off, Hawks coach Mike Woodson leaned over to assistant coach Larry Drew and told him that if they were going to excel this season they would need a huge contribution from Law, who is backing up veteran point guard Mike Bibby.

“It’s the truth,” Woodson said. “He has to play a major role in what we do this year. And tonight I noticed the difference in him. He’s intense. It showed in practice all week and he’s trying to be conscious of what he’s doing and it was a nice carryover into the game.”

Acie Law IV:

“I’m just focused. It’s not about play time for me. It’s not about joking. I’ve got something to prove. I feel like I was the 11th pick in the draft for a reason and this is the year I have to show that.”

From Sekou Smith's post-game blog:

Evans outplayed Pietrus and every other shooting guard the Magic deployed (JJ Redick did come off the bench and score 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, but this is JJ Redick we’re talking about).

And he played the kind of role that the Hawks envisioned when they tapped him to replace Josh Childress.

“I think I can bring experience and bring the intensity and [help] energize the second unit,” Evans said after the game. “I think I can bring that experience from starting and calmness to them by playing hard all the time like I do. I think we will have a chance to have a very special second unit.”

A second unit the Hawks needed against the Magic. With the first team struggling early on the Hawks needed a boost from the bench and got exactly that with the performances of guys like Evans, Acie Law IV, Zaza Pachulia, Solomon Jones and Flip Murray.

At Third Quarter Collapse, Ben Q. Rock credits the Hawks dominance on the offensive glass for the victory.

The Hawks head to Phoenix to play the Suns on Wednesday. Game tips at 10pm EDT. Read up on the Suns training camp at Bright Side of the Sun.