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April 28, 2008
Hawks Rock Celtics 97-92
The Atlanta Hawks just shocked the world by taking 2 straight games against the most dominant team in the NBA.
Like the Ali-Foreman fight that he made his team mates watch, rookie Al Horford's team now has it's own Rumble in the Jungle. They have beaten back the league bullies, the Green Machine, the bad boys, as Kendrick Perkins himself has said - and remained the last team standing.
The game resembled a good heavyweight fight with a Rocky versus Clubber Lang feel to it. There was that moment when, after taking everything that Clubber Lang could dish out and Rocky realized he could take it all of it and remained standing.....Rocky said with new found strength as he pushed Clubber Lang in that moment of truth, "You ain't so bad!"
The Rocky Balboa Hawks withstood an opening barrage of hay makers from the emotional and determined Celtics that drove the Boston ballers to what appeared to be a crushing 16-3 opening lead. The three Celtic stars combined for all 16 points. Pierce and Allen each hit 2 three pointers with defenders on them, while Garnett did the same with his 2 baskets.
But the die was cast as the Hawks weathered that opening flurry like a confident, old veteran team and had turned things around so completely as to be able to take a stunning 5 point lead by the end of the quarter. There would be no suffocating Celtic victory tonight. If the Celtics were to win, they would have to scratch for every single point from here on out.
The Hawks own "You Ain't So Bad" moment occurred when Zaza Pachulia took an elbow to the chest from Kevin Garnett on a rebound, and came right back into Garnett's face, head touching head, looking him in the eye, and saying 'expletive deleted'.
Team mates had to separate them and they still kept talking at each other. 4 technicals were assessed, as Joe Johnson and Sam Cassell were the other 2 players to receive Ts, as they got somewhat physically involved themselves.
The rest of the game was like that renowned Rocky III fight or like a Ali-Frazier heavyweight fight, where both fighters traded devastating blows that would put lesser teams down for the count. Neither team backed down and they traded punch for punch until the very end.
You expected that effort from the Celtics. But I didn't expect it from the Hawks.
These aren't the same Hawks that won 37 regular season games. These aren't the same Hawks that lost 5 in a row by huge double digits to the very same Celtics. They are a new team. They have come alive and come together right before our eyes. Who are these guys?
They are passing the ball like they never have. They are playing defense as we have never seen. They are making big shot after big shot. They are standing up to a very good defense, taking their hits, waiting their turn, finding their spots, and finding the weak spots in the Celtics previously impenetrable defense.
Truth be told, both teams showed moments of good and not so good basketball. It became a game of will, courage, and stamina. The Celtics did indeed look old at times and without an answer to the constant shot making of the Hawks.
On the Celtics side, Kevin Garnett was joined by James Posey as a big shot maker in the pivotal 4th quarter. The Celtics had taken their biggest lead since that opening barrage by the end of the 3rd quarter by holding the Hawks to 17 points. But the Hawks returned the favor in the 4th and were outscoring the Cs by 19-5 at one point in the 4th.
James Posey hit 3 big three pointers when no one but He and KG could mount an attack against a determined Atlanta basketball team.
A number of thoughts come to mind. Only Garnett, of the big three, came up big in the 4th. Like the last game, Ray Allen once again missed an open three pointer from the corner when they needed it most. Paul Pierce missed a foul shot and missed three shots including a bungled a drive where he had created the space for a lay-up with 28 seconds left. With 18 seconds left, Ray Allen drove the baseline for a meaningless dunk, instead of passing to a wide open James Posey at the opposite corner for an absolutely needed three pointer.
They did not play the defense, as the Hawks had 32 4th quarter points, and the Celtics did not hit the shots, as the Cs scored only 17 points themselves in the final period.
Joe Johnson scored 35 points, 20 in the 4th quarter and Josh Smith added 28, including 12 in the 4th. Ray Allen simply could not guard Johnson, and Joe hit some incredible shots over multiple defenders as well. Mike Bibby had a big first half with 18 points and zero the rest of the way.
This game was about Josh Smith as he seemed to block about 12 shots (he blocked 7), and he and Horford, and Childress kept the Celtics out of the paint for much of the night. Even in the very beginning, the Celtics early lead was built on jump shots, not points in the paint. There was a time when Josh Smith had 3 fouls and the Cs should have tried to add to that. They simply did not.
There was a point where they should have tried to get Pierce to attack the middle more. It didn't happen. Tony Allen might have been able to guard spectacular Joe Johnson. He was never seen. Doc did lift his decree on the proclaimed shortened rotation by getting Eddie House into the game.
The Celtics once again played very hard. They just didn't play very smart. It looked like they were afraid to attack the middle for long stretches. Have the athletic Josh Smith, Al Horford and co. intimidated the Celtics? They did a great job of defending the middle, as the Celtics shot only 37% (23-62) inside the arc. Intimidating or not, the Hawks were very effective defending the post.
Ray Allen led the team with 21 points but Kevin Garnett scored 20 points, 9 rebounds and had 6 steals, while Pierce added 18 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. Rajon Rondo added 12 assists, 14 points, and 2 steals, but was blocked 3 times. Kendrick Perkins added 9 boards and one block.
The plus-minus stats reveal that the Celtic reserves were unable to keep up with the Hawks, and things went best for the Hawks when Josh Childress was on the floor.
But the fearsome Celtics don't seem so any longer. They just 'ain't so bad' any more.
Their season, their quest, their manhood, and their legacy and reputations are now on the line. Sometimes, teams are too young or too dumb to know what they cannot do. The Hawks are a young team that now knows it can play with the top team in the league, take their best punch and come back and win the game.
What the Hawks don't know, is if they can win a game in Boston. They will find that the answer to that on Wednesday night.
Posted by Tom on April 28, 2008 10:56 PM
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