Bobcats-Hawks Preview

By NOEY KUPCHAN
Posted Nov 27 2012 7:11PM

While the Charlotte Bobcats have shown significant improvement this season, there weren't many positives to take away from their last game.

Things aren't about to get much easier with another matchup against the surging Atlanta Hawks up next.

The Bobcats conclude a three-game trek looking to bounce back from their worst loss in franchise history Wednesday night against the Hawks, who've had their way in this series of late - especially at home.

After matching its win total from all of last season with Saturday's 108-106 double-overtime victory at Washington, Charlotte (7-6) never had a chance in Monday's 114-69 loss at Oklahoma City. The Bobcats, who shot 29.1 percent and were outrebounded 54-37, trailed 64-24 at halftime - the fifth-largest halftime deficit in the NBA's shot clock era.

"We struggled to hit shots, we struggled to get good shots, we got beat on the boards. We got beat in all facets of the game," center Brendan Haywood said. "In a game like this tonight, you just basically say they beat us in every which way possible and you bounce back and you learn from the film."

Kemba Walker was held without a point for the first time in his career, going 0 for 6 from the field. Ramon Sessions and Hakim Warrick scored a combined 13 on 2-of-17 shooting.

"There hasn't been any kind of damage control to be done on this game," coach Mike Dunlap said. "We kind of know that OKC is a test for us, we failed it miserably but there are other, better days ahead."

The Bobcats, who've lost nine of 10 at Philips Arena, could be hard pressed to get back on track Wednesday if their recent efforts against the Hawks (8-4) are any indication.

Atlanta has taken five straight from Charlotte, including the last four by an average of 21.7 points. The Hawks continued that dominance Friday as Al Horford posted season highs of 26 points and 13 rebounds in a 101-91 road win.

One night after beating the Bobcats, Atlanta extended its winning streak to five with a 104-93 victory over the Los Angeles Clippers. Zaza Pachulia had a season-high 19 points along with 12 rebounds while Jeff Teague scored 19 and dished out 11 assists.

"I think we've just played well, I don't think there's anything in particular," Horford said of the winning streak. "We still have some work to do as a team and we can get better, but I feel like we've done a good job defensively."

In addition to superb defense - they're allowing 92.1 points per game to rank near the top of the league - the Hawks have benefited from Teague's impressive play. The fourth-year point guard is averaging a career-best 7.3 assists - significantly better than last season's mark of 4.9.

"Jeff has been on a roll for us," Horford said. "I think that he's the one driving what we have going on right now with his energy and finding people. ... He's making the game easier for a lot of us."

The Hawks are averaging an impressive 19.0 fast break points during their winning streak.

"Our game is predicated on speed and quickness and athleticism, and one area where we are starting to show really good signs of improvement is our transition game," coach Larry Drew said. "I would like to see it even more consistent, but 12 games into the season I'm pretty pleased at where we are."

The Hawks haven't won six in a row since opening 6-0 in 2010-11.

Horford leads Hawks to 94-91 win over Bobcats

By GEORGE HENRY
Posted Nov 28 2012 11:32PM

ATLANTA (AP) After an atrocious 1-for-10 night at the free throw line last week, Al Horford decided to spend extra time working on his foul shots.

"That's one of the things I always work on, and I got away from it a little bit," he said. "I think it showed when I went in that little slump."

His recent effort seems to have paid off.

Horford scored 17 points and hit two clinching free throws to help the Atlanta Hawks win their sixth straight game with a 94-91 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.

Josh Smith and Lou Williams also had 17 points apiece for the Hawks.

Ben Gordon scored 20 of his 26 points in the fourth quarter and Ramon Sessions had 18 to lead Charlotte, which has lost two straight and three of four.

Gordon's straightaway 3-pointer with 29.1 seconds remaining cut Atlanta's lead to 92-91. The Bobcats got the ball back, but Sessions' inbounds pass from the left sideline was ruled a turnover after the officials watched replays and concluded neither Gordon nor Smith touched the ball, which bounced out of bounds on the other side of the court with 5.2 seconds to go.

"I think if I would've touched the ball, it would've gone in a different direction, which it didn't," Smith said. "It was a good call by the referees."

Horford, who finished with 11 rebounds, followed with two free throws 1.1 seconds later. Before hitting all three foul shots against Charlotte, Horford had missed 11 of his previous 12 attempts.

"I've been working on a lot and watching myself the way I'm shooting it," he said. "Now I feel confident, and tonight was big for me to make those shots."

In the fourth quarter, Gordon was 5 for 7 on 3s and hit all five free throws he attempted, but he wasn't able to give Charlotte the lead.

"I just tried to be aggressive and force the issue a little bit," Gordon said. "My teammates did a good job of finding me. That was pretty much it. It was a good night, but I much prefer to get the W."

With Gordon covered in the final seconds, Byron Mullens missed a 3 that would've tied the score at the buzzer. Horford was covering him tightly on the perimeter and challenged the shot.

"The look was awesome, couldn't really ask for anything better," Mullens said. "I knew I was guarded, but the shot felt great. It felt like I got hit a little bit on the arm, so I kind of over-pressed it and it hit the back iron."

The Bobcats were coming off 114-69 loss - the worst in franchise history - on Monday at Oklahoma City, but they led at the 2:34 mark of the second quarter when Michael Kidd-Gilchrist's layup ended an 18-2 run that put Charlotte up 42-35.

By the 7:11 mark of the third, the Hawks led for good after Horford's three-point play made it 52-51.

Smith, who finished with a game-high 13 rebounds, was the catalyst for most of the third, scoring 13 points on 5-for-7 shooting and getting four rebounds, two steals and a blocked shot.

"Just being active, being around the basketball, creating plays for myself and others, being patient and then when the opportune time comes for me to be aggressive, I took advantage of it," Smith said. "It wasn't necessarily play calls. It was just me being patient and playing to the flow of the offense."

Kemba Walker scored 15 points and Brendan Haywood pulled down 11 rebounds for the Bobcats.

Horford is pleased that the Hawks' reshaped roster, which includes the additions of veterans such as Williams, Kyle Korver, Devin Harris, DeShawn Stevenson and Anthony Morrow, isn't playing like recent Atlanta teams that often squandered games against less-talented opponents.

"These games, in the past, one of them we would've dropped if we didn't come out with enough energy and little things like that," Horford said. "I think this year we're doing a good job even though it's closer than we would like. But we're getting the wins."

NOTES: Korver left with back spasms in the third and didn't return. ... Bobcats C Bismack Biyombo, returning after missing the last two games with a bruise on his lower left leg, finished with six points and eight rebounds in 27 minutes. ... Harris, playing for the first time since spraining his left big toe in last Friday's win at Charlotte, had seven points and four assists.

Notebook: Hawks 94, Bobcats 91

Matt Winkeljohn, for NBA.com
Posted Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:32 PM - Updated Wed Nov 28, 2012 11:32 PM

THE FACTS: Ben Gordon hit five 3-pointers in a monstrous fourth quarter to nearly rally the visiting Bobcats Wednesday, but Josh Smith had a monstrous game with 17 points, 13 rebounds, six assists, five blocked shots and three steals to lead the Hawks to a 94-91 win at home.

The rebounds, blocked shots and steals (tie) were season highs, yet Smith's biggest play might have come when he didn't touch the ball. He forced a critical -- and controversial -- Charlotte turnover late in the Hawks' sixth straight win.

Smith, Al Horford and Louis Williams each scored 17 points, yet the Hawks' sixth straight win was in doubt to the end.

Gordon scored 20 of his 26 points in the final period, when his heavily-contested trey with 29.1 seconds remaining pulled Charlotte within 92-91. The Bobcats trailed 90-81 with 3:01 remaining when they went on a 10-2 run to pull within 92-91 on the last Gordon bomb.

After Williams missed a trey for Atlanta (9-4) and the ball bounced over the backboard, the Bobcats turned the ball over when Smith altered Ramon Sessions' inbound pass.

Horford, who shot 2-for-13 from the free throw line in the previous three-plus games, made two with 4.1 seconds left to close the scoring.

Charlotte's last shot was a 3-pointer missed by Byron Mullens with about one second left.

The Hawks, who last won six straight games when they won their first 10 to start the 2010-'11 season, beat Charlotte for the second time in five days after a 101-91 win in Charlotte Friday. It was the sixth straight time Atlanta beat the Bobcats.

Horford added 11 rebounds assists, and the Hawks had just nine turnovers.

Charlotte (7-7) played better than on Monday in Oklahoma, where the Bobcats suffered the worst loss in franchise history, 114-69. Sessions scored 18 points off the bench, and Kemba Walker added 15 on 4-for-15 shooting.

QUOTABLE: "Playing a team that was coming off a lost like that . . . we knew they were going to give us their best game . . . they kept hanging around . . . I thought that team was playing harder than we were. They were bringing the game to us, and that is totally unacceptable in our building. . . . Josh Smith had a monster game." -- Hawks coach Larry Drew.

THE STAT: +7 --- The Hawks scored 17 points off Charlotte's 17 turnovers while the Bobcats mustered just 10 points of a season-low (best) nine turnovers for the Hawks.

Last Friday in Charlotte, the Bobcats had a season-high 16 steals against the Hawks, and they entered the game second in the NBA in steal margin per game (+2.92 per game to the Knicks' 3.84). Charlotte had six steals Wednesday, the Hawks' nine.

TURNING POINT: Atlanta ran clock after Gordon's last trey only to end up with a poor shot. Williams took a 28-footer as the shot clock nearly expired, and it bounced high and over the backboard to give the Bobcats the ball.

After a timeout, Sessions was inbounding with 5.2 seconds left when Gordon used a screen to race from the paint out past the 3-point arc.

Smith left his man, Mullens, as he noticed Gordon slipping his defender. Then, the Hawks both caught a break and made a break.

Seeing Smith closing fast, Sessions led Gordon just a little too much with his pass and the ball sailed cross court and out of bounds without being touched.

Sessions didn't see Mullens rolling to the basket uncovered for what might have been an uncontested go-ahead dunk if he'd received the inbound pass instead.

Officials reviewed the play on video, and ruled there was no conclusive evidence to overturn the original call.

QUOTABLE II: "I just tried to be aggressive, and look for my shot. My teammates did a good job of finding me. I have moments when I'm in the zone. . . . I thought [Smith] tipped it, but the referees ruled it was inconclusive." -- Gordon.

HOT: Gordon came off the bench to crank it up in the fourth quarter on 5-for-8 shooting. That included 5-for-7 from 3-point territory and he made all five of his free throws while adding three rebounds and a steal in the period. . . . The Hawks had the game under control well into the second quarter, but their 33-24 lead went away fairly quickly as Charlotte went on an 18-2 run. The Bobcats took a 45-43 lead into halftime, building their comeback on a 14-7 rebounding edge in the second period. . . .

NOT: Walker's 15 points were second-most for Charlotte, but he shot just 4-for-15. That's coming off an 0-for-6 game in Oklahoma City.

FANTASY NEWS: Sessions shot just 7-for-17 off the bench, but he scored 18 points and had eight assists. He has scored in double figures in 13 of 14 games, and is averaging 17.5 points over the past six games.

ROOKIE REPORT: With two steals Wednesday, Charlotte guard Jeffrey Taylor has had at least that many in five straight games -- 13 total in that span. . . . Michael Kidd-Gilchrist was well off his season averages with six points and three rebounds (averages are 11.0 and 6.4) for the Bobcats, and he shot just 3-for-9, but he had a couple explosive moves to the basket.

QUOTABLE III: "I think if I would have touched the ball, it would have gone a different direction, which it didn't. It was a good call by the referee. ... [I was] just being active, being around the basketball, creating plays for myself." -- Smith

NOTABLE: Kyle Korver started at small forward for Atlanta, but did not play after exiting with 3:48 left in the third quarter with a sore back. He was held out of practice Tuesday for the same reason. . . . Bobcats center Brendan Haywood tied his season high with 11 rebounds. ... With seven defensive rebounds, Horford moved past Steve Hawes (2,244) into ninth place in franchise history with 2,247. ... Zaza Pachulia (1,152) had four offensive rebounds and is 10th in Hawks history behind Alan Henderson (1,153).

UP NEXT: For the Bobcats, Friday vs. 76ers, Monday vs. Blazers, Wednesday vs. Knicks. For the Hawks, Friday vs. Cavs, Wednesday vs. Nuggets, Dec. 7 vs. Wizards.

• Bobcats: Henderson, Thomas
• Hawks: Petro

• Bobcats: --
• Hawks: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #47 Bennie Adams, #54 Nick Buchert
• Attendance: 10162
• Duration: 2:17