Magic-Hawks Preview

By TAYLOR BECHTOLD
Posted Nov 19 2012 12:53AM

After surviving an illness that ravaged the team during its West Coast trip, the Atlanta Hawks are looking forward to healthier days on their home floor.

Orlando first-year coach Jacque Vaughn, however, is getting sick of the Magic's chronic slow starts.

The Hawks will try for their seventh straight regular-season win over the slumping Magic on Monday when they begin a stretch of seven of eight games at home.

Atlanta (4-4) seemed to turn the corner with its 112-96 win at Sacramento on Friday after a flu virus spread throughout the team. Kyle Korver hit five 3-pointers and scored 22 points to help the Hawks salvage a split of the four-game swing.

Al Horford and Devin Harris had been too sick to play in Wednesday's loss at Golden State, while Josh Smith and Lou Williams managed to play through the stomach ailment in the team's win at Portland on Nov. 12.

"We had guys not playing, guys playing sick, but we persevered and got through it," Williams said. "We wanted to break even on this trip before we headed back to Atlanta to get prepared for our homestand."

Korver has played well of late, averaging 17.3 points and making 11 of 14 3-pointers in his last three games.

Williams added 21 and Smith had 19 on Friday, while Horford finished with 20 and 10 rebounds for his third double-double of the season.

The Hawks, who topped 100 points for the first time in six games, have made at least seven 3-pointers in all eight games.

"We can be a real up-and-down team, we know that," coach Larry Drew said. "We preach moving the basketball. We emphasize sharing the basketball."

Atlanta, which outscored the Kings 34-20 in the first quarter, could use another hot start versus a Magic club prone to early game struggles.

Orlando (3-6) has trailed after 12 minutes in seven of nine games following another slow start on Sunday in a 97-86 loss at Toronto. They've created double-digit first-quarter deficits in three of their last four road games.

"There's no other way we're going to win if we're not prepared," Vaughn said. "If we're not ready to play at the start of the game and committed at the start of the game, not waiting till halftime and what happens after, then we won't have a chance."

Making matters worse, J.J. Redick, the team's second-leading scorer at 15.8 points, missed the contest because of an illness and his status is uncertain for Monday.

The loss of Redick would hurt the Magic considering they already rank near the bottom of the NBA in scoring (90.8) and 3-pointers (42). DeQuan Jones could get another start in Redick's place after finishing with seven points on Sunday.

The short-handed Orlando is already without Al Harrington (knee) and Hedo Turkoglu (hand) for an extended period as they try to avoid their seventh loss in eight games.

Glen Davis, Orlando's go-to big man in the post-Dwight Howard era, will go for his fourth double-double in five games after finishing with 16 points and 12 rebounds against the Raptors.

Horford, Williams lead Hawks over Magic 81-72

By GEORGE HENRY
Posted Nov 19 2012 11:06PM

ATLANTA (AP) Al Horford needed most of the first half before he felt some energy in his legs.

Such is life in the NBA when you're recovering from the flu and returning from a four-game Western trip, but Horford and the Atlanta Hawks got the lift they needed in a lopsided third quarter.

"I thought it was just me, but I was asking the guys and they were tired, too," Horford said. "And (Orlando) played a back-to-back game, and I think that made it uglier. Tell you what, I'll take the win."

Horford scored 15 points and Lou Williams added 14 to lead the Hawks past the Magic 82-72 on Monday night.

Zaza Pachulia pulled down 10 rebounds in a reserve role for Atlanta, which has won two straight and three of four.

"We didn't have our legs early," Hawks coach Larry Drew said. "I saw it early. I saw guys really gasping for air the first four minutes of the game."

Glen Davis was the only player to score in double figures with 11 points for the Magic, who have lost two straight and seven of eight.

Orlando seemed to have given itself a break by ending the first quarter with a rare lead. The Magic had trailed after the first 12 minutes in seven of their first nine games, but they were outscored 24-12 in the third and were down 14 entering the fourth.

Following a fastbreak layup by Arron Afflalo that cut the lead to three early in the third, Atlanta went on an 11-0 run over a 2:03 span ending with Kyle Korver's 3-pointer for a 59-45 lead.

The Magic were dealing with illnesses, too.

Playing on the road for the second straight night, the starting backcourt of Jameer Nelson (cough) and J.J. Redick (flu), Orlando never recovered from its listless third quarter.

"I appreciate their efforts," Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said. "They tried to play for their teammates."

Early in the fourth, Ivan Johnson drew a foul from Redick on a runner in the lane and converted the three-point play to make it 72-50.

"I felt about as well as I played," Redick said. "I felt like I did more harm than good. I just didn't have it."

Orlando's never led again after Nelson's layup made it 37-35 with 3:50 left in the second.

Josh Smith, Atlanta's leading scorer following Joe Johnson's offseason trade to Brooklyn, ended the first half 0 for 5 from the field and 0 for 2 on free throw attempts before finishing the game with a season-low six points.

At least in the third, however, Smith and his teammates were playing a more complete game offensively, not just shooting jumpers.

"Whatever we did, we wanted to be aggressive doing it," Smith said. "We were able to be aggressive in that third quarter, especially taking the ball to the hole. Driving and kicking, finding the open people. Kyle got some open 3s. Whenever we picked it up on the offensive end, the defensive end took care of itself."

Atlanta, which won its seventh straight game against the Magic and fifth straight at Philips Arena, got a boost in the third after Drew told Jeff Teague and Devin Harris to push the ball harder up the floor and get their teammates running.

"We had a hard time getting our legs together," Williams said. "In the second half, we did a better job of competing. It was just exciting to get a win, especially in a kind of game like that."

Nelson, E'Twaun Moore, Josh McRoberts and Maurice Harkless each scored eight points, and Nikola Vucevic had 13 rebounds for the Magic.

Orlando's 19 turnovers led to 24 points for the Hawks.

Johnson and Teague had nine points apiece, while Harris, who started for the first time since the season-opening home loss to Houston, and Pachulia each scored eight for Atlanta.

"We just had to get our energy flowing," Smith said. "It took longer than expected, but a win's a win."

Notebook: Hawks 81, Magic 72

Jonathan Cooper, for NBA.com
Posted Tue Nov 20, 2012 12:16 AM - Updated Tue Nov 20, 2012 12:16 AM

THE FACTS: It took a while for the Hawks to get their legs, but once they did, they had little trouble taking off and taking care of the Orlando Magic.

Al Horford had a game-high 15 points and Lou Williams came off the bench to add 14 more, as the Hawks overcame a sluggish start and a season-low 38.2 percent shooting to beat the Magic, 81-72, Monday night at Philips Arena.

The win was the Hawks' seventh straight in regular-season play over the Magic and their fifth straight at Philips Arena.

The game was tight for the first two and a half quarters, with Atlanta leading, 23-21, after a first quarter that saw four ties and 10 lead changes, and by four at the half. But in the third quarter, the Hawks broke things open, as Horford scored five straight points to open a seven-point lead. They then they went on an 11-5 run over a 3:37 span to open up a 14-point lead. The lead would grow to 24 early in the fourth, as Atlanta went on a 9-2 run, with six of those points coming from Williams.

Glen Davis led Orlando with 11 points and Nikola Vucevic had a solid effort on the boards, pulling down a game-high 11 rebounds. The Magic shot only 2-for-10 from three, as J.J.Redick and Jameer Nelson were both under the weather, and they shot only 37.8 percent for the game. They made a run in the fourth, cutting the lead in half, with 2:42 left, and even getting it under double-digits with 1:35 left. But Horford's lay-up with 68 seconds left pushed the lead back up to 11 and Atlanta was never in danger again.

QUOTABLE: "24 points off 19 turnovers did us in tonight. It was simply a lack of execution. Basketball is not a complicated game until you make it complicated. We just need to make the easy play." -- Magic coach Jacque Vaughn.

THE STAT: 24: Atlanta created 19 turnovers and took advantage, scoring 24 points off them. Of those 24, 17 came off 12 first-half turnovers. On the other hand, the Magic forced 15 Atlanta turnovers, but managed only 13 points off them. In the first half, Orlando scored five points off five Atlanta giveaways.

TURNING POINT: To start the third quarter, Atlanta started to do some work in the paint and got separation. The Hawks' first 11 points of the quarter came from inside, with Horford scoring five straight and Josh Smith adding four. Atlanta outscored Orlando 16-6 in the paint in the quarter. They'd only have a 30-28 edge over the other three. In the frame the Hawks shot 52.4 percent to put the game away.

QUOTABLE II: "We had a hard time getting our legs together. In the second half we did a better job of competing. We have the rest of the week to kind of settle back into ourselves." -- Hawks guard Lou Williams on Atlanta's victory despite a slow start.

HOT: Williams had 14 points and picked up where he left off on the road. He was 6-for-12, and 2-for-2 from the line. Over his last three games he's scored 17.7 ppg on 47.1 percent shooting in 27.3 minutes. He's also averaging 4.7 assists, 3.3 rebounds and has a 7:1 assist-to-turnover ratio (14 assists to two turnovers).

NOT: Orlando went ice cold in the third quarter, shooting 27.5 percent (6-for-22) and going 0-for-4 from three. The third quarter won't be on either team's highlight reel, as for a stretch of nearly four minutes, beginning at 6:03, following a three from Atlanta forward Kyle Korver, to 2:19, when Orlando's Andrew Nicholson hit an 18-footer, neither team scored, combining to go 0-for-10, with four turnovers -- Orlando was 0-for-6 with two turnovers, while Atlanta went 0-for-4 with two turnovers.

NOTABLE: Celebrities in the crowd included former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield... Orlando saw all 13 players on its roster score and had a slight edge in bench points, 40-36...Atlanta forward Ivan Johnson grabbed a season-high eight rebounds, matching his previous season-high of four in the second quarter alone...Johnson doesn't shoot a lot but is proving pretty accurate when he does. He shot 4-for-8 Monday and has now shot at least 50 percent in all seven games in which he's taken a shot...Zaza Pachulia had his second double-digit rebounding game of the season for the Hawks, grabbing 11 boards...Orlando's Nikola Vucevic tied his season-high grabbing 13 rebounds of his own...Hawks rookies John Jenkins and Mike Scott each made their home debuts, with Jenkins grabbing one rebound and Scott two...The 37.8 percent shooting and 72 points were both Hawks' opponents' season lows.

UP NEXT: For the Magic, Wednesday vs. Detroit, Friday vs. Cleveland, Sunday vs. Boston. For the Hawks, Wednesday vs. Washington, Friday @ Charlotte, Saturday vs. Los Angeles Clippers.

• Magic: Harrington, Turkoglu
• Hawks: Petro

• Magic: --
• Hawks: --

• Lead Changes: 13
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #14 Ed Malloy, #40 Leon Wood, #52 Scott Twardoski
• Attendance: 15066
• Duration: 2:00