Josh Smith leads Atlanta Hawks to a 92-75 romp over Charlotte Bobcats: NBA Preseason Recap
Charlotte Bobcats took down the Atlanta Hawks in game one of their preseason last Monday; however on Thursday night, the Hawks roared back and avenged their loss by routing Bobcats 92-75 in the last tune-up game before the regular
season.
By the end of the first half, the game was in a deadlock; however, the Hawks initiated an onslaught in the third quarter to establish some distance, 71-58. They never looked back again and maintained a healthy lead until the end.
Although there was nothing much to differentiate between both the teams in terms of shooting stats, turnovers and rebounds, Hawks had more scorers in their team, which made the difference.
Point guard Jeff Teague watched the whole game from the bench after he injured his ankle in the practice game on Wednesday; however in his absence other players stepped up. Josh Smith, who dropped around 30 pounds in the off season,
showed he is ready for the regular season by scoring game high 21 points on 10 for 15 from the floor. Smith was quick and used his pace to pull down few critical rebounds, 6.
Ivan Johnson, who is fighting for a place in the team’s starting lineup with other few players, came off the bench late, to pound 15 points and force 8 rebounds while Joe Johnson added 12. Vladimir Radmanovic also chipped in with
11.
Hawks coach, Larry Drew seemed delighted with how his players performed tonight;
"The energy level was much greater tonight. I thought our starters did a good job picking up energy in times where we got a little lackadaisical."
Corey Maggette was the only player from Bobcats who finished with scores in double figures. He canned 18 points and grabbed 5 rebounds while D.J Augustin and Matt Carroll finished with 9 points apiece.
With the score at 53 all in the 5th minute of the third frame, the Hawks strengthened their defence and reeled off a magnificent 18-5 burst to turn the game completely on their side.
The run took the gas out of the Bobcats tank and they never really recovered from there. The closest they got to the Hawks was in the 6th minute, when the scores reached 71-78.
However, after that it was all Hawks.
Atlanta will now be opening their season on Tuesday against the New Jersey Nets and although this win is not that significant, it would definitely provide some momentum for the season opener.
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