FINAL
(42-19) 102 – 78 (26-33)
Key Performers:
N. Batum (POR): 14 pts, 18 reb
C. Martin (ATL): 16 pts, 6 reb, 3 stl
[FULL BOX SCORE]
You know…nobody actually expected the Hawks to win this game. There was a hope that they might be able to pull out an upset thanks to their ball movement and 3 point shooting. The Blazers aren’t exactly a good defensive team, maybe if the ball is moving fast enough and the shots are falling then they have a chance. Of course, it didn’t go that way. I feel this tweet from @fergoe on twitter describes it perfectly.
Hawks got blown out AND The Streak ended. Further proof that Atlanta sports teams can't just lose on ESPN, catastrophe has to go down.
— Demetrius (@fergoe) March 6, 2014
Of course the Hawks had to lay a giant egg on national TV. It’s the Hawks way. Yes, the Blazers were a better team but when they start off the game missing every single wide open look created, you know they’re about to do something awful.
Reaction grades [assessed 0-10]:
Jeff Teague: Teague really tried to be aggressive tonight. He attacked his defenders, he was trying to move the ball and get the offense going during some of the lowest moments of the game. I’ll give him points for trying but he was largely unsuccessful at it. To top everything off he had a pass that’s up there for one of the worst ones all season. Not a good game by any stretch. 3/10
DeMarre Carroll: Carroll had a horrible game on the offensive side of the ball. Was extremely overmatched by anybody that happened to be guarding him. On defense he struggled keeping up with his matchups off ball. He did his usual things like rebound and set screens but he just didn’t have enough of a positive contribution to justify giving him a good grade. 4/10
Kyle Korver: The streak is over at 127. Korver was swarmed by defenders and couldn’t hit the few open looks he got. That’s it for how his game went. I just want to say how cool it was to see someone on a night to night basis make NBA history. I got to see Korver set the record to triple digits in person when he was in Orlando and it’s a basketball memory I’m going to always remember. I’m honestly bummed his streak had to end, but all streaks have to end eventually. :(/10
Elton Brand:If one good thing came out of tonight, it’s that Elton Brand didn’t have to play another huge minute night. 20 minutes where Brand went 3-for-6 from the field. On defense he was a large part of holding LaMarcus Aldridge to 1-for-13 shooting and deserves tons of credit for that. 7/10
Mike Scott: Scott couldn’t get anything going all night on offense. LaMarcus Aldrige and Robin Lopez shut him down. On the other side of things, Scott worked with Brand to make sure Aldridge didn’t score himself so he gets points for that. 5/10
Mike Muscala: Still way too early to tell how Muscala will pan out long term. He had some okay moments here and there but the rookie also had some clear rookie mistakes. One moment in particular he went up way too early for an offensive put back and ended up getting called for offensive goaltending on something that may have gone in anyways. He needs to pick his spots a little better. 3/10
Lou Williams: I forgot Williams had played at all tonight. I’m not exactly sure why he played such a small amount of minutes. I don’t recall him getting injured or anything like that. He played 5 minutes, shot 4 free throws and made all of them. INC/10
Shelvin Mack: Mack couldn’t hit his shots tonight but he did the other backup point guard things. He passed well, didn’t turn the ball over, and rebounded pretty well too. Defensively couldn’t do much but nobody on the perimeter really defended well tonight. 6/10
Dennis Schröder: Schröder was able to get himself some minutes tonight but he didn’t really do a lot with them. He did keep his turnovers down which was good but he didn’t have a very large impact despite playing 23 minutes. Another below average night for the rookie. 4/10
Pero Antic: It was refreshing to see Antic back in the lineup. His consistently solid play was sorely missed in his absence and he came back without disappointment. 3-for-5 from the field, rotated fairly well, caused some issues for Aldridge, and played within the system. Nice night for the big guy. 7/10
Cartier Martin: Martin played a surprising amount of minutes tonight. I don’t know if that had to do with the blowout or not but he was okay in his time. He shot 50% from the field and scored 16 points. Managed to pull down 6 rebounds and get 3 steals. 7/10
Mike Budenhozler: Sometimes there isn’t much you can do as a coach. The Hawks were missing wide open shots and moving the ball. The Hawks played to Bud’s system and seemed to be responding to him. He took timeouts to try and get his team to get something going but nothing was happening. I give him credit for keeping everybody’s minutes relatively low in a game that was lost early in the 3rd quarter. 7/10
The opposition: LaMarcus Aldridge went 1-for-13. That is the one bad thing I can tell you about the Blazers tonight. They dominated. 10/10
Next: Atlanta at Golden State, Thursday, March 6th
