Game-On Boston: Hawks Lose But Prove They Can Play With the Best

Hawks 102 Boston 103

I have to be honest with you. I expected my beloved Hawks to go 82-0 this year. Maybe, just maybe, my expectations were a little too ambitious.

The Hawks showed fight, but came up short by 1 point on a game winning fade away by Paul Pierce.

Off and running to start the first quarter, by midway through the second, the Hawks had built a 16 point lead. But the Celtics are the defending champs for a reson. As easy as flipping a switch, Boston stormed back to make it 51-51 at the half.

Foul trouble plagued the Hawks all night. Al Horford received 5 fouls in only 15 minutes of total play, limiting him to the bench for most of the night and forcing him to play soft defense during crunch time in the fourth quarter.

Despite the Hawks foul trouble throughout the game (Boston had 42 attempts from the freethrow line), the Hawks found a way to stay in it and were 7 seconds away from stealing one from the Champs.

The Hawks had a chance to win because of the outstanding down-the-stretch play of Joe Johnson. With 15 seconds left, Johnson drove to the lane drawing three defenders and causing a fouth, Ray Allen, to move a step toward him. Upon realizing Allen’s blunder, Johnson fired the ball to a wide open Marvin Williams in the corner, who buried a three to put the Hawks up one.

The pressure was on Boston to make a game winning shot. Unfortunately, Paul Pierce delivered with a fade away from the right side as time expired.

You can’t win ‘em all. The Hawks fought the Celtics and stayed in the game long enough to almost sneak away with a win. Though a 1 point defeat is a tough pill to swallow, I get the feeling this is not the last time this year these teams will lay it on the line and force the opposition to go down to the wire, if they want the win. A chance at redemption is not far; the teams meet again in Atlanta on December 17th.

Notes:
I half way thought by the end of the fourth quarter that the Hawks towel boy would be playing center and the water boy would be playing power forward. Marvin Williams, Al Horford, and Solomon Jones had 5 fouls a piece. Randolf Morris had 4 fouls. Zaza Pachulia did not play in th second half due to a shoulder injury suffered in the 2nd quarter.

After a dream scenario since Josh Smith went out on Friday last week (Hawks 2-0 with both games on the road), his presense was greatly missed last night against the Celtics. No play was more important than the last shot by Paul Pierce. If it wasn’t obvious that he was going to take it, you are probably not an avid NBA fan. The game came down to a 6’7 Paul Pierce fading away over a 6’10 Al Horford. Watching the play in slow motion, the shot was pristine. Nobody shot the fade away like Mike, but it was as close to Jordan-esque as it comes. However, the first thought that came to my mind---Pierce would be Josh Smith’s man. Nobody can match Smith’s athletisicm. Lets face it, the guy jumps out of the gym and there is no doubt in he is on Pierce at the end of the game. Maybe, he makes it still- Smith should get the chance to prove otherwise on December 17th.