[外電] NBA's hottest team rolls on
NBA's hottest team rolls on
By SEKOU SMITH
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 04/01/06
If Josh Smith's layup floats another inch, the Hawks might be
celebrating their upset of the hottest team in basketball
Saturday morning instead of nursing another loss.
If Joe Johnson's Nikes hold firm and he doesn't hit the floor
on a potential game-tying drive, the Hawks might be on those
endless SportsCenter reruns as the conquerors rather than the
conquered.
If they box out Vince Carter just once late in the game,
Dominique Wilkins' entry into the basketball Hall of Fame
isn't the only reason the Hawks are a relevant topic in the
sports world this morning.
And if the NBA season was defined by what might have happened
or what could have happened, then the Hawks might have something
other than their 22-49 record after Friday night's perplexing
91-88 loss at home to the New Jersey Nets, winners of an NBA-best
11 straight games.
"We had everything the way we wanted it and just couldn't get
over the hump at the end," said Hawks co-captain Al Harrington.
"One or two plays right there at the end and it could have been
the difference. But it didn't happen.
"And it's something we've been dealing with since the start of
the season. We just didn't have enough to finish the job."
The Hawks led most of the game and by as many as 11, while the
Nets played at the Hawks' pace the entire night and shot just
35 percent (26-for-75) from the floor.
And though the Nets outrebounded the Hawks 51-37, they had just
seven assists to the Hawks' 23, as point guard Jason Kidd
struggled to find a rhythm against a defensive package designed
to limit his ability to dictate tempo.
"We knew we were going to have to grind out a win," Carter said.
"It's not an easy game when you come in to play the Atlanta Hawks.
I don't care what their record looks like. One thing coach [Mike]
Woodson has them doing is playing extremely hard. They come at
you from start to finish."
But when the game was on the line late, the Nets had the
playmakers the Hawks did not.
After Smith tied the game at 82-82 with a 3-pointer in front of
the Hawks bench with 1:30 to play, both teams traded blows until
the Nets, 43-28, were left standing.
Carter drove on Smith and tipped in his own miss on his second
try, for an 84-82 lead with 1:10 to play.
Josh Childress tied the game for the Hawks on a baseline dunk
with 55.6 seconds to play; he was fouled on the play but missed
the free throw.
Carter tipped in his own miss on the Nets' next possession for
a 86-84 lead, and Johnson slipped on the Hawks' next possession,
fouling Kidd as he lay on the floor.
Kidd sank five of six free throws over the next 37 seconds to
seal the win for the Nets, who avoided becoming one of the Hawks'
playoff-bound victims this season. Half of the Hawks' 22 wins
this season have come against teams with records of .500 or
better.
"I thought our effort was great," said Hawks coach Mike Woodson,
whose teams was torched by Carter (26 points, nine rebounds) and
Richard Jefferson (27 points, nine rebounds) but didn't allow
anyone else to push them around. "From a defensive standpoint
when you hold this team to 91 points and 34 percent shooting,
you figure you win the game. We had our chances down the stretch.
"We had a couple of defensive lapses, where we didn't block out.
Vince missed a shot and then had a couple of put-backs, and we
missed layups and a couple of key free throws.
"They made some key plays that ended up putting it away for them.
And we just didn't make the plays."
資料來源
http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0401hawks.html
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