Atlanta Hawks Defeat Portland In Overtime Thriller

On Monday, the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Portland Trail Blazers in an exciting overtime battle. What stood out from the win?

Well, that was the exact opposite of Atlanta’s loss to the Sacramento Kings. The Atlanta Hawks thrilled fans Monday night by knocking off the Portland Trail Blazers in overtime. Portland controlled the early portions of this game, taking a six-point lead into half-time.

The Hawks clawed back in the third quarter, securing a one-point lead entering the fourth quarter. Late in the game’s final quarter the Hawks trailed by two points. Atlanta would inbound the ball from the sideline with only 2.2 seconds remaining.

Then Paul Millsap happened.

Millsap’s clutch bucket sent the game to overtime. Portland controlled the early part of the overtime period, starting with a 7-0 run. It appeared that Millsap’s heroic shot would be for nothing. With 3:14 remaining the Blazers held a 104-97 lead. The Hawks closed the game on a 12-0 run to steal the victory.

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Last Friday they lost a game they probably should have won. This win over the Blazers was a game they probably should have lost. It’s funny how the NBA evens itself out like that.

It was not the prettiest of games. Both teams shot poorly. Atlanta finished the game shooting 38.6 percent from the field and just 28.6 percent from three-point range on 28 attempts. Portland wasn’t much better. The Trail Blazers shot 35.9 percent from the field and 38.1 percent from outside.

Tim Hardaway Jr. led the way for the Hawks. Hardaway ended his night with 25 points, seven rebounds, and four assists on 8-for-19 shooting and 4-for-9 from outside. His continued development as a dynamic scorer has been huge for Atlanta this season.

Dennis Schroder added 22 points, taking advantage of being guarded by Damian Lillard. Dwight Howard finished with 19 points and 16 rebounds. Portland doesn’t have a center that can come close to stopping him down low and it showed. The Hawks took full advantage of Howard’s strength in the post.

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Millsap didn’t just play hero, he also had a well-rounded overall performance. Millsap chipped in 21 points, nine rebounds, and five assists. He shot just 4-for-12 from the field, but shot 12-for-12 from the free-throw line. When you watch performances like this you gain a full understanding of just what makes Millsap so special.

He won the Hawks this game. The game was on the line and he performed.

Millsap spoke about his last second shot to the media after the game (quote from the Associated Press’ recap).

"“Initially I wanted to go baseline but I fumbled the ball and I had to go middle. It’s a good thing,” he said. “I was able to get a good look at it and put it up with my left hand. You’ve just got to be calm and patient in those situations.”"

Somehow he managed to stay calm and make the shot. Mike Budenholzer stated definitively yesterday that the Hawks are not trading Millsap next week. I can see why.

Portland didn’t shoot well as a team, but their stars still put up impressive point totals. Damian Lillard led the way with 26 points, seven rebounds, and five assists on 9-for-24 shooting. The Hawks made him work for his points.

C.J. McCollum added 21 points on 6-for-21 shooting. Again, Atlanta made it hard for him. These are two dynamic guards that are nearly impossible to stop from scoring. Forcing them into an inefficient night is about as much as you could ask for. Atlanta’s perimeter defenders did their job.

Mike Budenholzer spoke to the media after the game about the difficulty of defending Lillard and McCollum (quotes from Chris Vivlamore’s recap).

"“Lillard and McCollum, they are just so freakin’ good,” Budenholzer said before the game. “They take so many shots. So can you make it difficult on them? Can you make all their baskets tough? In a perfect world, you get the ball out of their hands some. But it’s easier said then done.”"

They didn’t get much help from the rest of the starting lineup. Maurice Harkless scored 17 points, but Meyers Leonard and Noah Vonleh combined for eight points on 1-for-8 shooting. Their bench combined for 37 points to attempt to make up for those performances.

Somehow the Hawks snatched victory out of the jaws of defeat. It wasn’t pretty, but Hawks fans will take it. Every win matters as the logjam in the middle in the Eastern Conference begins to tighten. They’re keeping themselves in contention for a top three seed. That would have sounded crazy two months ago.

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The Hawks have one more game before a much needed All-Star break. They’ll take on the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday night to wrap up this west coast road trip. I’ll make some more coffee.