Hawks-Raptors Preview

By MATT BECKER
Posted Jan 30 2012 1:38PM

Lengthy road trips are obviously difficult with the travel and having to playing on opponents' home courts, but the Atlanta Hawks aren't flinching.

The Hawks look to win four times on a five-game trip for the first time in more than 40 years when they face the Toronto Raptors on Tuesday night.

Atlanta (15-6) has posted victories over Milwaukee, Detroit and New Orleans while losing to San Antonio on a trip which began last Monday. The Hawks haven't won four games on a five-game trip since going 5-0 from Dec. 8-14, 1968. They've had 16 five-game road swings since.

"It's just a road mentality," point guard Jeff Teague said after a 94-72 win in New Orleans on Sunday. "It's tough to beat somebody at their home, so you come in and you have to be fully focused and ready, and we're doing that."

The Hawks won both games in Toronto last season and have taken four of their last five games at Air Canada Centre.

Teague, whose status against the Hornets was uncertain after he left Friday's game against Detroit with a sprained left ankle, started Sunday and matched a career high with 24 points. Big games from Teague usually bode well for the Hawks, who are 11-1 when he scores at least 13 points and 4-5 when he doesn't.

"We've been constantly on him about just being aggressive and he did that," reserve Willie Green said. "He set the tone for us. He does a good job of getting guys involved and sometimes he has to be aggressive. We just want him to be able to do all of that and that's a lot to ask, but he's just getting better."

Teague scored 13 in a 93-84 home win over the Raptors on Jan. 16, Atlanta's fifth straight victory in the series. Josh Smith led the way with 28 points and a season-high 15 rebounds while Joe Johnson added 27 points.

Johnson, who leads the Hawks with 18.6 points per game, has averaged 30.0 in his last three games against Toronto.

The Raptors (7-14) have lost their last three home contests and are 2-5 at Air Canada Centre on the season, but they've been playing better basketball lately.

Toronto is returning home after winning three of the final four contests on a five-game trip, which concluded with a 94-73 victory over New Jersey on Sunday. The Raptors shot 51.5 percent - making more than half their shots for only the second time all season - while holding the Nets to 36.5 percent shooting and allowing their lowest point total of 2011-12.

"The guys played like they believe," coach Dwane Casey said.

Toronto outscored New Jersey 50-34 after halftime with DeMar DeRozan leading the charge, as he had 19 of his season-high 27 points in the second half.

The Raptors have leaned on DeRozan more with Andrea Bargnani sidelined because of a left calf strain, but the 6-foot-7 guard has been inconsistent. In the 10 games since Bargnani originally injured his calf, DeRozan has averaged 20.8 points and 48.6 percent shooting in five contests but 9.6 points and 24.0 percent in the other five.

"He's too athletic and too quick to not get to the rim," Casey said.

DeRozan had 10 points and went 5 of 17 from the field in Atlanta two weeks ago. Leandro Barbosa had a team-high 22 points in that contest but sat out for the first time this season Sunday with a sore left ankle. He is listed as day to day.

Joe Johnson scores 30 as Hawks beat Raptors

Posted Jan 31 2012 10:44PM

TORONTO (AP) Joe Johnson needed just three quarters to have one of his best games of the season.

Johnson matched his season high with 30 points, Tracy McGrady scored 15 against his former team and the Hawks recorded their sixth consecutive victory over the Raptors, beating Toronto 100-77 on Tuesday night.

"That's the type of player he is," McGrady said of Johnson, who made 13 of his 18 field-goal attempts. "Once he gets that feeling, he can run off 10 or 12 points in a hurry."

Atlanta's leading scorer, Johnson has averaged 30 points in his past four games against Toronto.

"He was certainly an All-Star tonight," Atlanta coach Larry Drew said.

Jeff Teague, Marvin Williams and Zaza Pachulia each scored 10 points as the Hawks won their third straight.

Jerryd Bayless scored 14 points for the Raptors, who lost their third home game in a row. Toronto has gone 5-9 in playing a league-high 14 road games, but is just 2-6 at home.

"We came out with a competitive spirit, but I didn't think we sustained it long enough," Raptors coach Dwane Casey said. "I was disappointed in not sustaining the competitive spirit, especially in the second quarter when the game got out of hand."

Ed Davis had 11 points and matched a season high with 11 rebounds, his first double-double of the season. Gary Forbes added 10 points for Toronto.

The Hawks, who have won five of their past six in Toronto, wrapped up their most successful five-game road swing in more than four decades. Atlanta lost at San Antonio but won at Milwaukee, Detroit and New Orleans on this trip, its best performance since going 5-0 on a five-game trip from Dec. 8-14, 1968. The Hawks have had 16 five-game road swings since.

"I'm only 25, so I wouldn't know anything about that," Williams joked. "That is pretty impressive."

Drew was pleased to see the Hawks stay focused after winning big at New Orleans on Sunday.

"Our guys persevered through a very challenging road trip," Drew said. "Coming into this game, there was room for a mental letdown but we didn't let down. We kept our foot on the gas."

The Hawks, who have won 12 of 15 overall, host Memphis on Thursday night in the opener of a four-game homestand.

"Guys are excited to see their families and stuff," Williams said. "It's been the longest road trip I personally have ever been on. It was tough, but we took care of business out here."

Johnson had 12 points in the first quarter, giving Atlanta a 23-18 lead after one. He scored 12 more in the second as the hot-shooting Hawks made 14 of 21 field-goal attempts, taking a 56-37 lead into the half.

"That second quarter was big," McGrady said. "It gave us a little extra room to breathe and it was because of (Johnson). He was on fire and we just kept feeding him."

Johnson ended the third with a pull-up jumper to make it 77-60, then took the rest of the night off.

Notes: Atlanta's 56 first-half points are the most by a Raptors opponent this season. ... G Leandro Barbosa returned for Toronto after sitting out Sunday's win at New Jersey with a sore left ankle. ... Bayless and C Amir Johnson started for the Raptors, but were replaced by Rasual Butler and Aaron Gray to begin the second half. ... The Hawks made eight turnovers in the first quarter, but had just seven more the rest of the way. ... Toronto was without leading scorer Andrea Bargnani (left calf) for the ninth time in 11 games. Bargnani will not travel with the team for Wednesday's game at Boston.

Notebook: Hawks 100, Raptors 77

By Duane Watson, for NBA.com
Posted Tuesday January 31, 2012 10:40PM

THE FACTS: The Atlanta Hawks (16-6) defeated the Toronto Raptors (7-15) 100-77 at the Air Canada Centre on Tuesday night. The Raptors could not find a way to cool off Joe Johnson's hot shooting hand, who shot 13-for-18 from the field and 3-for-5 from behind the arc for 30 points. Johnson led a balanced attack with six Hawks in double figures and did it early. Atlanta took a 23-18 lead after the first quarter and widened the gap to 19 at halftime.

The Hawks never let up and The Raptors' 19 turnovers leading to 27 points for the Hawks kept the game out of reach. Tracy McGrady scored 15 points off the bench and Marvin Williams, Jeff Teague and Zaza Pachulia each chipped in 10 points. The Raptors were led by Jerryd Bayless' 14 points, while Ed Davis scored 11 points with 11 rebounds.

QUOTABLE: "Joe is the head of the snake with us and our guys understand their roles as far as what their jobs and responsibilities are, they have the open shots, they take their shots. But when we're playing and we start playing together really distributing the basketball among one another, we become very tough to defend because we take out some of the predictability of what we do."
-- Hawks head coach Larry Drew

THE STAT: Johnson scored 30 points in 30 minutes. He only needed a half hour to dispose of the Raptors and putting the game well out of reach.

TURNING POINT: The Hawks ended of the 2nd quarter on a 20-6 run, capped off with Johnson's 28-foot, 3-point shot with 1.9 left. Atlanta shot 66 percent from the field and Johnson matched his first quarter point total of 12, with another dozen in the second giving them a 56-37 lead into halftime.

QUOTABLE II: "I still can play! I can play and I'm just trying to give this team a little boost off the bench. Some veteran experience and glad I can make plays and make the game a lot easier for these guys."
-- McGrady on his 15-point, 4-rebound game off the bench.

HOT: Johnson shot 10-for-12 from the floor and had 24 points in the first half. The Raptors had no answers for the Hawks leading scorer who put the ball in the basket in a variety of ways. His scoring allowed the floor to open up for the Hawks offense, creating opportunities for others and his ability to get going early put the game away quickly.

GOOD MOVE: Gary Forbes solved the small backcourt situation in the Raptors matchups with some solid defense on ohnson coming off the bench for 10 points and an open court steal for a layup in the 3rd. But by then, the game was out of reach.

BAD MOVE: The Raptors started the game with a backcourt of Jose Calderon and Jerryd Bayless that led them to a win in New Jersey on Sunday. However, that ball-handling tandem suffered from a height disadvantage causing mismatches that the Hawks efficiently made work of. While it provided early offense for Bayless with eight points in the first frame, the Raptors were beat early and often by the Hawks bigger guards.

NOTABLE: The Hawks win gives them their fourth win of five games on the road, something they haven't done since December 8-14, 1968. ...The Hawks first 56 points in the first tied a half was an opponent season high for first half scoring for Toronto. ...Rasual Butler left the game in the third quarter with a mild ankle sprain but returned in the fourth. ... The Hawks have now won six games in a row against Toronto.

UP NEXT: For the Raptors, Wednesday @ Boston, Friday vs. Washington, Sunday @ Miami. The Hawks return home for the next few games, Thursday vs. Memphis, Saturday vs. Philly and Monday vs. Phoenix.

• Hawks: Horford
• Raptors: Alabi, Bargnani

• Hawks: --
• Raptors: --

• Lead Changes: 2
• Times Tied: 1

• Arena: Air Canada Centre, Toronto, ON
• Officials: #8 Marc Davis, #29 Mark Lindsay, #59 Gary Zielinski
• Attendance: 16117
• Duration: 2:04