Hawks Complete 19-Point Comeback, Drop Pelicans 94-93

After being down by as many as 19 in the 1^st half, the Atlanta Hawks completed an epic comeback and defeated the New Orleans Pelicans on a Kent Bazemore game-winning jumper with 2.1 seconds left.

Even with the officials refusing to call anything in the Hawks’ favor, including Pelicans head coach Alvin Gentry crossing midcourt to call a timeout (which should’ve resulted in a technical foul) as well as DeMarcus Cousins lowering his shoulder on a drive to the basket late in the game (which should’ve been an offensive foul, called as a blocking foul), the Hawks were able to ramp up their defensive intensity and change their fortunes against a team attempting to fight their way into the Western Conference playoffs.

Though Atlanta shot an exceedingly poor percentage from beyond the three-point arc – only 25% on a season-high 40 attempts (10 of 40) – they were able to force key turnovers late and outexecute the Pelicans down the stretch, outscoring the Pelicans 49-33 in the second half.

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Another reason for the Hawks’ victory was their terrific defense on Anthony Davis. AD was coming off a three-game stretch in which he had scored 129 points and nabbed 42 rebounds, including an incredible 48-point, 17-rebound performance against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden.

On this night, The Brow was getting double-teamed every time he touched the ball and he was only able to get up 8 shot attempts due to this immense defensive pressure from the Hawks. Davis finished with only 8 points in 38 minutes of action.

For Atlanta, Kent Bazemore sunk the game-winning shot and generally played well on both ends, pestering Pelicans’ ballhandlers with his quick hands and lithe frame. Despite not shooting well from downtown (only 1 of 7), Baze had 20 points on 9 of 18 shooting from the field with 5 assists, 2 rebounds and, crucially, only 2 turnovers.

Dennis Schröder, who is having his best season, also played a major role in the Hawks victory. Though he had a poor night shooting the ball – only 1 of 7 from two-point range and 3 of 9 from downtown – Schröder contributed majorly by dishing out a career-high-tying 15 assists, including finding Baze on the game’s final possession. He also had 3 rebounds, 2 steals and a +2 box plus/minus.

https://twitter.com/ATLHawks/status/953793961314824192

The major difference-makers for the Hawks came off the bench. Though Boogie and The Brow are very difficult to deal with together, when they were separated in this game the Hawks bench took advantage.

Dewayne Dedmon continues to play well for the Hawks since returning from an almost two-month layoff, and his defensive intensity definitely affected this game’s outcome. Though he contributed to the Hawks shooting woes (only 2 of 9 from the field), Dedmon finished with 10 rebounds and a +6 BPM in only 20 minutes of action.

Dedmon battled hard and fouled out against DeMarcus Cousins and Anthony Davis, forcing them into difficult shots and, in particular, fending off AD for tough defensive rebounds in traffic.

Rookie John Collins also had an excellent game, serving as the Hawks’ primary scorer off the bench with 18 points on 7 of 8 shooting from the field and a perfect 4 of 4 from the free throw line.

Though Collins’ thin and underdeveloped frame was getting pushed around by the larger players on the Pelicans (specifically the titanic combination of Boogie and The Brow), he did finish with 5 rebounds, 1 block and a +2 BPM – as well as some awesome dunks (perhaps showcasing his skills prior to a Dunk Contest invite):

Marco Belinelli, who also shot poorly from three-point territory (1 of 5), still affected the game in a positive way since defenders have to defend him at all times on the perimeter lest he heave up a deep three-pointer.

He stuffed the stat sheet in only 23 minutes with 8 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 1 steal and a game-high +13 BPM. Belinelli seemed unfazed by Boogie’s menacing court presence – possibly because they were teammates when they both played for the Sacramento Kings.

This was a wonderful game for the Hawks, and though wins are of little consequence for the team this season, it’s always nice to see a likeable, scrappy team defeat two Top-10 players at the height of their powers.

Next: Three Players the Atlanta Hawks Should Trade

The Atlanta Hawks return to action on Saturday, January 20^th at 5:00 p.m. EST.