Tonight's Game

[NineOhTheRino]

lol @ this thread

[MaceCase]

Horf 18 rebounds. 9 Offensive.

That is all.

[Frenzy]

gotta give it up to Marv, he played a good game

[dhawk]

Marvin - Great game. Scoring & rebounding

Horford - Great game. Double-double

JJ - Bad shooting but scores 20 & 13 assists - double-double

Josh - bad shooting, off night.

Craw - bad shooting, but scored when needed.

Bibby - good early.

[lethalweapon3]

Everybody was compensating when teammates were off, particularly Al and Marvin stepping up with hustle and offensive boards. Fantastic substitutions and timeout-timing by Woody. Very satisfying game!

~lw3

[TheTruth]

I so wanted them to win after they battled back from 14 down in the 1st quarter and played very well past that point. Horford had a man's man game, and Marvin has been the truth past couple games. Bibby didn't play at all in the 3rd and 4th quarter IIRC and only got token minutes in OT for inbound passes...that was a major key to our win.

[High5]

Wow, that might be the best Hawks win I have seen since game 4 of the Boston series. Just awesome how everyone contributed and how their moments throughout. And Horford finally conquering Duncan. Sure Duncan still had a great game, I really don't think that can be avoided with the players we have, but Horford made sure he was going to have a better game. And he put Duncan on a poster for good measure.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

It's like I've been saying all year . . . the Hawks are mentally tough. They may go through a 2 or 3 game lull in which they don't play right. But for the most part, this team has been mentally tough all year.

I don't know why people keep doubting this team the way they do.

They're not Cleveland . . but they're a damn good team.

[TheTruth]

Some people doubt them because of games like GSW, Knicks, Pistons, Heat, and TOR.

However, it takes a mentally tough team to not shut down after getting down 14 so quickly in the first quarter at home. And they didn't get desperate after both teams kept it close the rest of the way. Luckily, they have shown this ability pretty much all year. On the other hand, they have shown the ability, like in the games above, to play like crap, be lazy, or lose their focus for extended stretches. Thankfully, this has not happened enough times to jeopardize our chances to get into the playoffs.

The more they play like this (sans first quarter), the better chances they have of beating anyone.

[High5]

It's like I've been saying all year . . . the Hawks are mentally tough. They may go through a 2 or 3 game lull in which they don't play right. But for the most part, this team has been mentally tough all year.

I don't know why people keep doubting this team the way they do.

They're not Cleveland . . but they're a damn good team.

I loved the win more than any other this year, but I'm not calling them mentally tough. Sure they did it tonight, but mentally tough teams don't lose some of the games they have lost this year. They're just EXTREMELY talented and that's able to overcome the mental shortcomings from the players and coach more times than not.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

Some people doubt them because of games like GSW, Knicks, Pistons, Heat, and TOR.

However, it takes a mentally tough team to not shut down after getting down 14 so quickly in the first quarter at home. And they didn't get desperate after both teams kept it close the rest of the way. Luckily, they have shown this ability pretty much all year. On the other hand, they have shown the ability, like in the games above, to play like crap, be lazy, or lose their focus for extended stretches. Thankfully, this has not happened enough times to jeopardize our chances to get into the playoffs.

The more they play like this (sans first quarter), the better chances they have of beating anyone.

Truth, you do realize that if we won those games, that we'd be on a 15 game winning streak, right? And it was Dallas, not Detroit.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I loved the win more than any other this year, but I'm not calling them mentally tough. Sure they did it tonight, but mentally tough teams don't lose some of the games they have lost this year. They're just EXTREMELY talented and that's able to overcome the mental shortcomings from the players and coach more times than not.

People just focus on the bad losses more than the good wins. It's like what we've accomplished throughout the entire span of the year doesn't even matter at times. Yes, we shouldn't have lost some of those games, but you're not going to win every game like that either. Our resume this year, other than us not being able to beat Orlando or Cleveland, is impressive.

[TheTruth]

Truth, you do realize that if we won those games, that we'd be on a 15 game winning streak, right? And it was Dallas, not Detroit.

I don't care if it would have put us on a 50 game win streak...you should win the games against inferior opponents. And no, I WAS thinking of the Detroit game because I was naming clearly inferior teams that we lost to throughout the year that we should have beaten.

[Atlantaholic]

Slow start aside, this was one of the best games of the season, easily. Al Horford's absolutely disgusting facial on Duncan was probably the most important moment for one of our players of the entire season. It was like "Damn, has Al Horford finally learned to play against a true big man?". If tonight's performance raises Horford's confidence level like I think it should, than we may just have a chance against the likes of Cleveland or Orlando in the second round. Since the All-Star break Horf has already been playing at an incredibly high level. If he can maintain tonight's aggressiveness (not even necessarily the same results), man he may just turn out to be a true perennial All Star for us.

[Atlantaholic]

I'll also add that it is pretty awesome that we are getting our first taste of the playoffs early with all of these close games against playoff teams in March. Fun time to be watching basketball if you're a Hawks fan.

Edited March 22, 2010 by Atlantaholic

[Gray Mule]

This victory assures the Hawks of making the playoffs. Crawford, for the first time ever, with this

being his 9th year in the league, is going to the playoffs!

Everyone seems to assume the Hawks automatically win the first round of the playofffs. We all certainly

hope that they do, but remember, there is no guarantee we won't go out in the 1st round. Check out

your March madness teams and notice how many are already out of it. It happens.

Did you notice? Marvin had carried the Hawks in the 1st half. In the fourth quarter, the Hawks seemed

to be playing "Keep Away" with Marvin. Wherever he was, wherever he went, the ball went in the other

direction. The other Hawks wouldn't let him touch the ball. Interesting, to say the least.

Team effort and team win. They did it together. And, what moves Woody made seemed to work. He had

the right players in the game at the right time and we all give him grief when things he does doesn't work

out, so give the guy some credit for getting this one right.

:line dance:

GO HAWKS!!

[Diesel]

I was watching this game closely. I saw Al Horford in the stands selling hotdogs, beer, and life insurance...

He was doing it all last night.

When they went up by 4 near the end of regulation, i was ready to pack it in. But these Hawks have been there and done that before.

[TheNorthCydeRises]

I don't care if it would have put us on a 50 game win streak...you should win the games against inferior opponents. And no, I WAS thinking of the Detroit game because I was naming clearly inferior teams that we lost to throughout the year that we should have beaten.

I guess that's why the NBA Finals will consist of Cleveland vs the LA Lakers . . . because they're the only teams in the league that you can honestly say that they don't lose vs "inferior" teams. Lakers only have one loss vs teams below ,500, while the Cavs only have 2 losses.

Every other 40 win team in the league has between 5 to 8 losses vs below .500 teams. We're 23 - 7 vs those teams.

[AU hawksfan]

I know we complain a lot about people going to the games, but I must say what a great crowd last night! :thumbsupsmileyanim:

And people actually stayed late at the game through OT....amazing!!!