Hawks-Warriors Preview

By JORDAN GARRETSON
Posted Nov 13 2012 6:43PM

The Golden State Warriors may be able to learn a thing or two from the Atlanta Hawks.

While the Hawks enter Wednesday night's matchup in Oakland having rid itself of some recent late-game troubles, the Warriors come in still smarting from a double-overtime loss.

The Hawks (3-3) bounced back from consecutive defeats with Monday's 95-87 win at Portland. Josh Smith scored 19 in spite of a stomach illness, but most important was the fashion in which Atlanta won.

The Hawks, who were undone by a 15-1 fourth-quarter run in Sunday's 89-76 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers, scored the final 10 points in Monday's game. Atlanta was 9 of 16 from the foul line Sunday and its bench was outscored for the first time, 35-32, but restored order in both regards Monday, going 18 of 22 on free throws and outscoring Portland's reserves 26-6.

"We knew they were going to go on a run but it just shows you how this is a veteran team," Smith said. "We didn't get rattled. We took our time, even when they took the lead and we figured out a way to score the basketball late down the stretch."

Finishing games is one of the lessons the young Warriors (3-4) still have to learn as they try to avoid losing their third in a row. They squandered multiple opportunities to put away Denver in Saturday's 107-101 double-overtime home loss.

Golden State led by two with 13 seconds left in the first overtime, but Klay Thompson, who scored 23 points, missed two free throws and Danilo Gallinari tied the game with a dunk with 2 seconds remaining. In the second overtime, Golden State went scoreless in the game's final 2:47, allowing the Nuggets to score the game's final 11 points.

"We had the lead a couple times in late-game situations and our inexperience showed," said David Lee, who at 29 years old is the Warriors' second-oldest player.

Golden State's 71.1 free-throw shooting percentage and 16.3 turnovers per game - two keys in avoiding late collapses - both rank near the league's bottom

"If we even play halfway decent it's not a game to begin with," Lee said. "It's very frustrating."

Golden State has also shot less than 40 percent in its last two games, the first time it's done that since February 2011. The return of Andrew Bogut, who has sat out the last two rehabbing an ankle injury, would help provide some easy baskets, but he's already been ruled out for the next four games.

The Warriors won 85-82 at Atlanta in last season's only meeting, snapping a three-game skid in the series. Lee posted 22 points and 12 rebounds, while Smith finished with 14 points and 10 boards.

Atlanta's Al Horford is averaging 18.9 points in seven games against the Warriors, his highest against any opponent and 6.1 better than his career average.

Barnes helps Warriors hold off Hawks, 92-88

By ANTONIO GONZALEZ
Posted Nov 15 2012 2:14AM

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) Harrison Barnes ran for the rebound as soon as he saw Stephen Curry shoot from beyond the arc, corralling the ball in a crowd of defenders to give the Golden State Warriors a key possession in the final seconds.

The rookie's hustle highlighted his breakout performance and was the kind of play Golden State had struggled to make during a two-game skid.

Barnes also made a pair of critical free throws late to finish with 19 points and 13 rebounds as the Warriors held off the short-handed Atlanta Hawks 92-88 on Wednesday night. Golden State outrebounded Atlanta 44-29 to overcome 23 turnovers.

"I was reluctant to go to the board on that one," said Barnes, drafted seventh overall out of North Carolina. "When he shoots, not too many times he misses. I definitely wanted to get in that mix, and I knew if he missed we had to get that rebound."

After blowing a lead in a double-overtime loss to Denver on Saturday, Golden State did just enough this time.

David Lee added 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Curry scored 12 to put the Warriors ahead by 13 points early in the fourth quarter. The Hawks hacked that lead to two but Barnes and Jarrett Jack each made a pair of free throws to seal Golden State's victory.

The Warriors improved to 4-4 heading into a difficult three-game road trip to Minnesota, Oklahoma City and Dallas.

"It's very big because we get back to 4-4," Lee said. "And just getting off a two-game losing streak is always huge. Now we go on a road trip with some tough stops and we're excited to have some momentum going for sure."

Atlanta's push just came too late.

Lou Williams scored 18 points, including three straight 3-pointers that whittled the Warriors' lead to a basket with 11.2 seconds remaining. Josh Smith added 16 points and 10 rebounds for Atlanta, which had Al Horford and Devin Harris out because of a stomach illness.

"It was a gutsy performance by my guys," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "After going down by 12 at one point we fought back. A little short-handed tonight but still we had an opportunity."

The way the Warriors' defense finished was enough to make coach Mark Jackson sick.

Williams made the second of his three consecutive 3s to bring Atlanta within 90-85 with 21.8 seconds left. Curry, who had made a floating layup over Smith on the previous possession, missed a 3-pointer that Barnes tracked down.

Barnes was fouled and made both free throws. He had not had more than 14 points or five rebounds in his first seven games.

Williams made another 3-pointer to slice Golden State's lead to 90-88. Jack, who finished with nine points and four rebounds, was fouled and swished both free throws to secure the victory.

"You're going to have tough nights," Jackson said. "I don't care who you are. The best teams and the worst teams have to be able to respond."

Atlanta has had multiple players get sick during its West Coast trip, though they only missed practices until Wednesday. The latest bug sidelined Horford and Harris. Zaza Pachulia started at center in Horford's place, and even he had to overcome a setback.

Pachulia was cut above his right eye in the first quarter, with blood dripping down the side of his face. He received stitches in the locker room and returned.

With the Hawks hurting on the inside, the Warriors went to work.

Lee led the charge by going at Atlanta's depleted front line, allowing Golden State to play inside-out. He had 14 points and seven rebounds in the first half to help the Warriors take a 54-46 lead.

Golden State withstood several shots from Atlanta.

The Hawks started the third quarter on a 7-1 run to trim the Warriors' lead to two. Ivan Johnson then inadvertently elbowed Warriors second-round pick Draymond Green in the face while going for a rebound late in the quarter.

Green stayed down for a couple of minutes until walking gingerly to the locker room, with Johnson patting him on the chest on the way off the court. The team said X-rays on the right side of Green's jaw came back negative. He later returned.

In the meantime, another rookie helped the Warriors create some separation.

Barnes ignited an 18-7 spurt the lasted through the opening minute of the fourth quarter to put Golden State ahead 73-60. He threw down a put-back dunk that brought fans roaring to their feet, including Warriors owner Joe Lacob sitting in his usual courtside spot, and mixed in a turnaround jumper and a driving layup.

NOTES: The Warriors honored former coach Don Nelson at halftime for his Hall of Fame induction in September. The 72-year-old Nelson, who has an NBA-record 1,335 wins, said he has no plans to get involved in basketball again and is enjoying retirement at his home in Maui, Hawaii. ... The Hawks finish their four-game road trip Friday at Sacramento. ... Warriors C Andrew Bogut will rehab his surgically repaired left ankle in the Los Angeles area during the team's road trip.

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Antonio Gonzalez can be reached at: www.twitter.com/agonzalezAP

Notebook: Warriors 92, Hawks 88

Geoff Lepper, for NBA.com
Posted Thu Nov 15, 2012 2:11 AM - Updated Thu Nov 15, 2012 9:23 AM

THE FACTS: Rookie Harrison Barnes collected his first NBA double-double Wednesday, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds to help the Golden State Warriors beat the Atlanta Hawks 92-88.

David Lee had a double-double of his own with 18 points and 10 boards as Golden State, for years one of the league's worst offenders at failing to clean up the defensive glass, outrebounded Atlanta 44-29 despite the absence of injured center Andrew Bogut. The Hawks, themselves playing without ill center Al Horford, had just five offensive boards -- less than half what a Warriors opponent usually gets this season -- and four second-chance points.

Lou Williams led Atlanta with 18 points and poured home 12 of those in the fourth quarter, but the Hawks ran out of time to complete their comeback.

QUOTABLE: "I thought our guys did a great job of responding to being embarrassed on the boards the other night [being outboarded 65-54 by Denver in double overtime Saturday]. . . . We've got to be committed to it, because we don't have the luxury of having one guy that's going to go get us 20 [rebounds] every night. We've got to do it as a committee."

-- Golden State Warriors coach Mark Jackson on winning the rebounding battle without Bogut

THE STAT: After extinguishing Atlanta's offensive rebounding, the Warriors outscored the Hawks 46-20 in the paint.

TURNING POINT: The Warriors took an 86-77 lead on Klay Thompson's driving lefty layup with 1:48 left, but Williams drained back-to-back 3-pointers to cut that advantage to 88-85 at the 46.2-second mark. Stephen Curry was stymied on Golden State's next possession, unable to get by burly forward Ivan Johnson after a switch and forced to hoist a desperation trey that missed. But the carom flew long, and Barnes cut in from the sideline to get his most important rebound of the night. Barnes was fouled with 21.8 seconds remaining and drained both free throws.

GOOD MOVE: Jackson said he put in a new set to get Barnes some more looks, and also allowed the small forward to initiate the offense more often, with more isolation plays.

QUOTABLE II: "I had a conversation with him earlier today, let him know what I was going to need him to do, and told him I was going to play him some more minutes. But he's got to earn them. I'm not going to just hand them to him. I thought he was very aggressive. . . . Most importantly: 13 rebounds. He went and got the basketball." -- Jackson on forward Barnes

HOT: Golden State reserve swingman Richard Jefferson set a season-high with 10 points on 4-for-6 shooting, and backup point guard Jarrett Jack went 3-for-3 en route to nine points, helping to make up for the Warriors' starting backcourt ...

NOT: ... of Curry and Thompson, who continued to struggle from the floor. Curry was 4-for-12, missing all five 3-pointers, and Thompson was 2-for-11, 1-for-5 behind the arc.

FANTASY SPOTLIGHT: Johnson had 19 points on the year coming into Wednesday, and he nearly doubled that mark against the Warriors, delivering 15 points on 7-for-8 shooting. Johnson, who clocked 22 minutes, is likely to get more time Friday in Sacramento if Horford hasn't recovered from the stomach virus that has been making the rounds of Atlanta's roster.

INSIDE THE ARENA: Former Warriors coach Don Nelson, who posted 422 of his NBA-record 1,335 victories with Golden State, was honored at halftime for his recent election to the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.

NOTABLE: Atlanta guard Devin Harris was also out with the same stomach ailment as Horford, both felled by the stomach virus that has been running through the Hawks' roster. Coach Larry Drew said he hoped both would be available Friday, when Atlanta will finish its four-game road trip. . . . Zaza Pachulia started in place of Horford, but left the game after barely more than 5 minutes due to a laceration above his right eye. The cut required five stitches and several minutes to close; Pachulia returned at the 9:22 mark of the second quarter. . . . Warriors rookie forward Draymond Green caught an elbow from Johnson in the third quarter. X-rays on the right side of his jaw proved negative, and he returned late in the fourth period. . . . Hawks forward Mike Scott, a second-round draft pick making just his second NBA appearance, scored his first regular-season NBA points with an 18-foot jumper at the 10:42 mark of the second quarter.

UP NEXT: For the Hawks, Friday @ Sacramento, Monday vs. Orlando, Wednesday vs. Washington. For the Warriors, Friday @ Minnesota, Sunday @ Oklahoma City, Monday @ Dallas.

• Hawks: Harris
• Warriors: Bogut, Rush

• Hawks: Drew
• Warriors: Green

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 2

• Arena: ORACLE Arena, Oakland, CA
• Officials: #27 Dick Bavetta, #9 Derrick Stafford, #63 Derek Richardson
• Attendance: 18107
• Duration: 2:21