Atlanta Hawks Win Their Second Consecutive Game

The Atlanta Hawks took down the Philadelphia 76ers for their second straight victory. How did they take care of business?

Once again, it wasn’t pretty, but the Atlanta Hawks did what they had to do. On Wednesday, the Hawks defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 99-92 to win their second consecutive game. Tuesday night they defeated the Phoenix Suns to end a seven-game losing streak. Back-to-back wins against bottom feeders will keep Hawks fans from pressing the panic button on Atlanta’s season.

I’ll state the obvious, the 76ers and Suns are quite possibly the worst two teams in the NBA at the moment. They’re both ravaged by injuries and have decided to tank for the remainder of the regular season. That being said, the Hawks can’t be too picky about how they win their games and who those wins come against. They’ll take whatever they can get it.

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Atlanta was once again without Paul Millsap. Millsap’s left knee will be reevaluated after Saturday’s game against the Chicago Bulls. At this point, it may be best to let him rest until the playoffs. If the Hawks are going to win even a single game in the postseason they’ll need a healthy Millsap.

One major contributor did return to the rotation. He didn’t start, but Kent Bazemore brought an energetic and productive performance to his first game back from injury. Bazemore was outstanding, especially from three-point range.

Bazemore finished his night with 19 points, four assists, and four rebounds on 6-for-10 shooting and 4-for-5 from outside. Bazemore’s three-point stroke looked as confident as it has looked all season. If the Hawks get this version of Bazemore in the playoffs they’ll be quite a formidable foe.

Dwight Howard absolutely dominated inside. As Jake Martinsek wrote earlier in the week, “Playoff Dwight” has arrived early this season. Howard scored 22 points and grabbed 20 rebounds on 8-for-17 shooting. He even hit two jumpers! What a time to be alive.

Dennis Schroder had 14 points and dished out five assists, but the performance overall was a mixed bag. As KL Chouinard pointed out on Twitter last night, Schroder has seen his turnovers per game increase significantly while Paul Millsap has been out of action.

Schroder had nine turnovers against the 76ers and he’s averaging over four turnovers per game in March. It’s not necessarily Schroder’s fault, without Millsap he’s the only play-maker on the floor for large periods of time. Mike Budenholzer has tried to relieve some of that burden by playing him alongside Jose Calderon, but that backcourt pairing is a work in progress.

Tim Hardaway Jr. added 19 points, while Ersan Ilyasova dropped 14 points against his former team. Atlanta’s bench scoring issues were glaring once again. Other than Bazemore, the bench combined to score just two points.

Overall the Hawks shot just 42.5 percent from the field, but a 9-for-18 from the three-point line helped offset their inefficiency on two-point attempts. They also committed 17 turnovers.

Richaun Holmes led Philadelphia with 25 points and eight rebounds on 11-for-16 shooting. The trade of Nerlens Noel has allowed him the opportunity to show that he can be a real player in the NBA. Holmes has a bright future.

Rookie of the Year frontrunner Dario Saric struggled through a difficult shooting night. He finished with 15 points, but shot 5-for-18 from the field. The Hawks knew he was the one player they had to stop.

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T.J. McConnell added 13 points and eight assists, while Justin Anderson scored 10 points on 4-for-9 shooting. Overall Philadelphia shot 41.4 percent from the field and 28.2 percent from three.

Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer spoke about Dwight Howard’s contributions to the victory. The following quotes come from Chris Vivlamore’s recap in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. 

"“Obviously, Dwight Howard was dominant rebounding, scoring, making free throws,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. “He just did a lot of things really, really well and carried us.”"

Kent Bazemore spoke about his sparkling return to the court.

"“It helps that I’m easing my way back into things,” Bazemore said. “Less is more right now for me. Making the simple play. Shoot when you are open. Take what the defense gives you. I try that all the time but tonight was pretty much flawless on my behalf. It’s good to be back.”"

The Hawks are finally getting healthy, as the regular season comes to a close. The win improved their record to 39-36. They remain tied with the Milwaukee Bucks for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Atlanta does hold the head-to-head tiebreaker in the event that they finish tied.

Next up on the schedule are the Chicago Bulls, followed by another game against the Brooklyn Nets. Both games are winnable, even without Millsap in the lineup. The Hawks have proven they can win without Paul Millsap.

Next: Atlanta Hawks Mock Draft: First Edition

Now they just have to keep proving it.