Warriors-Hawks Preview

By SANTOSH VENKATARAMAN
Posted Dec 14 2012 11:39PM

It's been a much different story for the Atlanta Hawks and Golden State Warriors since they met a month ago.

Both these teams are among the NBA's biggest surprises, and the Hawks will try to earn a split of the season series with a Warriors team that's wrapping up a seven-game road trip Saturday night.

Not much was expected from either team in 2012-13, with Atlanta (14-6) losing six-time All-Star Joe Johnson to Brooklyn and Golden State (15-8) entering off four straight losing seasons.

The Hawks, however, are tied with Miami for the Southeast Division lead.

"Wins and losses, I'm very happy with where we are," coach Larry Drew said. "I thought this first quarter of the season we came together pretty well."

The Warriors are off to their best start since 1991-92 and sit 1 1/2 games behind the first-place Clippers in the Pacific.

Atlanta was 3-3 and Golden State 3-4 when these teams met Nov. 14 in Oakland, where the Warriors won 92-88 behind rookie Harrison Barnes' 19 points and 13 boards.

This rematch figures to be different since the Hawks' Al Horford and Devin Harris were sidelined by stomach illnesses. That's the only contest missed by Horford, who is averaging 18.9 points in seven games against the Warriors, his highest against any opponent and 5.9 better than his career mark.

Atlanta can also expect a more potent effort from the Golden State backcourt of Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson, who combined for 19 points on 6-of-23 shooting the last time. Curry is averaging 21.8 points during an 8-2 run by the Warriors while Thompson averaged 20.0 on the first five games of this road trip before he was held to nine in Friday's 99-85 loss to Orlando.

That defeat ended a five-game win streak to begin this trip for the Warriors, whose only two losses in their last 10 have been to the Magic. Curry scored a game-high 25 points.

"I don't know exactly how to stop them," Curry said. "Thankfully, we don't have to play them again."

Golden State never led after the first quarter and trailed by 16 at the half.

"It was one of those nights where we were expecting a run," coach Mark Jackson said. "A run of stops, a run of scores and it never happened. ... We never got into a danger zone where we felt like the game was ours."

David Lee finished with 24 points and 15 boards, marking the career-best sixth straight game he has had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

The Hawks have won 11 of 13 since losing to the Warriors. They cruised past Charlotte 113-90 on Thursday.

Josh Smith is leading Atlanta with 17.3 points per game while Horford is second with a career-best 16.3. The chemistry between the two seems to be better this season.

"I think we complement each other real well," Horford said. "I think Josh is an unselfish player. I'm an unselfish player as well. I think we just want to win. I really want to win in the worst way and we're making it work with the team."

The Hawks are among the NBA's top defensive teams, allowing 93.1 points per game and limiting opponents to 43.7 percent shooting.

Lee leads road Warriors past Hawks, 115-93

By CHARLES ODUM
Posted Dec 15 2012 10:44PM

ATLANTA (AP) The weary Golden State Warriors managed to put together quite the finale to an impressive seven-game road trip.

They sure look like one of the top teams out West.

David Lee had 20 points and 11 rebounds, and the Warriors beat the listless Atlanta Hawks 115-93 on Saturday night.

Stephen Curry collected 18 points, 11 assists and eight rebounds for Golden State, which went in front to stay in the second quarter. Harrison Barnes and Carl Landry each had 19 points.

The Warriors capped a 6-1 tour against Eastern Conference teams, including a win at Miami. It was the team's first winning trip of at least six games since a 4-3 trip in the 1970-71 season.

"It was important for us to do that to show that we're for real and we're going to be here for the long haul," coach Mark Jackson said. "It was a quality, quality effort."

Golden State (16-8) closed the long trip with back-to-back games, including a loss at Orlando on Friday night.

"I told them before the game I'm tired so I know they're tired," Jackson said. "Physically beat up, ready to get home. That's no excuse; 6-1 sounds better than 5-2. The good teams make sure that they finish the course.

"Even though it's a legitimate excuse about fatigue, we didn't allow it to take over us."

Jarrett Jack, who had 13 points, said the Warriors were determined to avoid a losing streak.

"We didn't want to go back with two losses in a row," Jack said, adding players told each other: "Let's give it everything in the tank."

The Hawks, who fell out of a first-place tie with Miami in the Southeast Division, looked like the fatigued team.

"That was probably one of our worst games all year from the standpoint of just our energy," coach Larry Drew said.

"We didn't have it. For some reason, we did not have the energy. We were a step late with a lot of things and we shot short."

Al Horford led Atlanta with 17 points. Lou Williams scored 16 and Ivan Johnson had 15 points and nine rebounds.

The Warriors set season highs for points and assists (32).

"I was really proud of our guys," Lee said. "Everybody brought it."

The Warriors shot 49.5 percent (49 of 99) from the field.

"Give them credit. They were on fire," Atlanta's Zaza Pachulia said. "They did a good job and we didn't."

The Hawks had won 11 of 13 but quickly dropped off the pace after the teams played to a 26-all tie in the first quarter.

The Warriors grabbed control when they outscored the Hawks 36-23 in the second period. Barnes gave Golden State the lead for good when he opened the period with his first of two straight 3-pointers.

No Hawks starter logged 30 minutes, and backups played most of the final period.

Golden State completed a sweep of its two-game season series against Atlanta. It was Lee's seventh straight game with at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.

Drew was called for a technical foul as he protested a play at the end of the first half. No foul was called as Jeff Teague was knocked to the floor on a missed layup. Drew charged from the bench and drew the technical as he was restrained by his assistants.

Curry made the free throw awarded for the technical foul to open the second half.

Warriors rookie center Festus Ezeli was held out due to a bruised right knee. He banged his knee in Friday night's loss at Orlando and had difficulty loosening up in pregame drills.

Andris Biedrins filled in for Ezeli and had seven rebounds and no points in his first start of the season.

Josh Smith had a difficult night for Atlanta. He was 1 for 12 from the field for three points while playing only 24 minutes.

"If you've ever played basketball, you know you're going to have games when you don't make shots," Smith said. "Tonight was my game."

Smith wasn't alone. Teague made only 3 of 11 shots and the Hawks shot a season-low 36.9 percent from the field.

NOTES: Newly retired Braves 3B Chipper Jones attended the game with two of his sons. ... Lee has scored 20 or more points in eight straight games, the longest streak of his career. ... Hawks G Anthony Morrow (sore back) did not play. ... The Warriors continue to be without C Andrew Bogut, who is recovering from ankle surgery, and G Brandon Rush, who is out for the year with an injured left knee.

Notebook: Warriors 115, Hawks 93

Matt Winkeljohn, For NBA.com
Posted Sat Dec 15, 2012 11:25 PM - Updated Sat Dec 15, 2012 11:25 PM

THE FACTS: Maybe it's time to stop being surprised by Golden State.

David Lee had 20 points and 11 rebounds in his seventh straight 20-point/10-rebound game, and the Warriors had season highs in points and assists (32) as the most surprising team in the West whipped the most surprising team in the East with a 115-93 win over the host Hawks Saturday night.

Golden State (16-8) swept the Hawks (14-7), who had won 11 of 13 since losing 92-88 to the Warriors in Oakland on Nov. 14. Rookie Harrison Barnes had 19 points, Stephen Curry added 18 points and 11 assists and the bench pitched in, too. Carl Landry had 19 points and seven rebounds, and Jarrett Jack added 13 points and eight assists.

This game was tied at 26 after a quarter, but Golden State opened the second period with a 16-5 run as Barnes scored 10 of his 19 points, and the Warriors looked nothing like a squad that lost 102-94 a night earlier in Orlando while the Hawks were idle.

Golden State led 62-49 at halftime against an Atlanta team that entered the game with the NBA's fifth-stingiest defense, allowing an average of 93 points per game.

The Warriors shot 8-for-12 from 3-point territory over the first two quarters with Jack going 3-for-4 on trey tries and fellow guard Curry going 3-for-5.

Al Horford, who missed the Hawks' loss at Golden State, led Atlanta with 17 points and nine rebounds, but all other Atlanta players combined to shoot 24-for-73 (32.9 percent). The Hawks were just 5-for-26 (19.2 percent) on 3-point shots.

Josh Smith missed his first nine shots and finished 1-for-12, as Atlanta dropped its third straight game to Golden State. The Hawks' shooting percentage (36.9) was a season low.

QUOTABLE: "I've got an all-time great group of guys. Even my young guys are old guys . . . It was important for us to bounce back tonight and show everyone that we're in this for the long run. . . . I told [players] before the game that I'm tired, so I know they're tired. But that's no excuse. I'm proud of my guys once again because we could have used the excuse of being tired. I'm extremely happy about being part of this group."

-- Warriors coach Mark Jackson

THE STAT: +18 -- The Warriors made 18 more shots than the Hawks in going 49-for-99 from the field to Atlanta's 31-for-84. That more than offset the Hawks' 19-point edge from the free-throw line. Golden State did it by doing a much better job rebounding Atlanta's missed shots than did the Hawks. The Warriors had 44 defensive rebounds on the Hawks' 53 missed shots. ... Saturday completed the most successful road trip of seven or more games since the Warriors moved from Philadelphia to the West Coast in 1962. In a 6-1 blitz of the East, Lee had at least 20 points and at least 10 rebounds in every game for Golden State, which won six games on a road trip for the first time since the East-West move.

TURNING POINT: The game swung for good over the first half of the second quarter. The Hawks opened the period with one starter in shooting guard Kyle Korver and the Warriors had three (Barnes, Curry and Klay Thompson) on the floor.

Horford had nine points in the first quarter, but by the time he re-entered for Atlanta in the second, Golden State had seconds earlier pushed the lead to 42-31 on Lee's 17-foot jumper with 6:29 left.

QUOTABLE II: "We played so well the first five games, and then didn't show up last night in Orlando. So to come out on the road, back-to-back, when you're tired and then play this well is big for us. Being on the road this long together definitely brings us closer together."

-- Warriors guard Stephen Curry

HOT: Lee was 10-for-14, and remains the only player in the league averaging at least 19 points, 11 rebounds and three assists (19.3, 11.4, 3.4). He had four assists Saturday.

NOT: Curry was 2-for-10 in the second half and missed all six of his 3-point shots after halftime. ... Atlanta players other than Horford and Ivan Johnson shot 17-for-63 (27 percent).

QUOTABLE III: "When they punched us in the mouth, we did not respond. That was very disappointing."

-- Hawks coach Larry Drew

GOOD MOVE: Drew benched Smith about four minutes into the third quarter, at which point Smith was 1-for-12 with three turnovers, in favor of Johnson.

ROOKIE REPORT: Barnes took advantage of his matchup against Korver in the second quarter, when he scored 10 with a combination of athletic moves in the post a few jumpers from afar. ... Atlanta guards Mike Scott (nine points, three rebounds in 9:41) and John Jenkins (eight points, two rebounds in 16:58) each scored career highs as they saw their most extensive time once Drew began emptying his bench by the middle of the third quarter. ... Warriors reserve forward Draymond Green was just 2-for-8 with five points, but he added eight rebounds, two steals, an assist and a blocked shot.

NOTABLE: The Warriors have played 15 road games and just nine home games. They are 10-2 against teams from the East (6-1 on the road) and 6-6 against the West. Since starting 3-4, they have gone 13-4. ... Golden State learned shortly before the game that Andris Biedrins would make his first start at center because rookie Festus Ezeli was a late scratch because was bothered by a knee that he bruised a night earlier in Orlando. Biedrins did not score, but grabbed seven rebounds in 14 minutes. ... Anthony Morrow did not dress for the Hawks because of a sore back. ... The Warriors are 2-2 with Andrew Bogut (out with a balky left ankle) starting at center, 13-6 with Ezeli starting at center, and 1-0 with Biedrins. Jackson has not made any other changes to his starting lineup as Curry and Thompson have started all 24 games in the backcourt, and Lee and Barnes have started every game at the forward spots. ... The Hawks have been among the NBA's best teams at forcing turnovers, but Golden State did not turn the ball over in the third quarter and had just 11 in the game.

UP NEXT: For the Warriors, Tuesday vs. Hornets, Wednesday @ Kings, Friday vs. Bobcats. For the Hawks, Tuesday @ Wizards, Wednesday vs. Thunder, Friday at 76ers.

• Warriors: Bogut, Rush
• Hawks: Morrow

• Warriors: Curry
• Hawks: Drew

• Lead Changes: 5
• Times Tied: 6

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #19 James Capers, #28 Zach Zarba, #56 Mark Ayotte
• Attendance: 15145
• Duration: 2:02