boxscore
So that turned good in a hurry. The crusify list was long with two minute to go in the first half. My short list included Woodson, Joe, Horford, and Harrington. Two quarters later I couldn't care less about Harrington, Joe Johnson raced his way to near 50% shooting from the field, Horford requested game mvp honors, and Woodson only had one or two small gripes to his name.
Hawks fans are so use to knowing what kind of game it is going to be after two quarters, it makes this one is all kinds of confusing. The copy and paste button is pissed. The "after going down big, the Hawks forced shots and failed to have the energy to get stops on the defensive end" won't work. The "finally taking the lead in the second half, the Hawks had nothing left to keep it" clearly did not happen. And the Hawks "dominating a lesser opponent only to let up in the second half and let "x" back in" just does not fit. I am not even talking stereotypical loses. The Hawks are starting to defy stereotypical wins.
Overall, I can't put my finger yet on why, but tonight, I can. The starting front court had 47 points, 21 rebounds, 4 steals, 3 blocks, and 7 assists. Any team in the league is not ok with those numbers, they are ecstatic. Those are Christmas list numbers.
The Hawks did everything they were suppose to do, it just happened over two quarters instead of four. It is tough to project offensive strategies from a Knicks game and a few defensive weaknesses were on display, but when the Knicks luck ran out and the Hawks focus came in, they did what they needed to do to win, and now, the next step is doing it without three starters playing 40 plus minutes.
Go Hawks!