Hawks Soar Past Grizzlies 101-76
Mookie Blaylock saw his team's leading scorer on the bench in street clothes and decided it was up to him to step forward for the Atlanta Hawks.
With Steve Smith nursing a sore right knee, Blaylock came through with a 20-point performance as the Hawks defeated the Vancouver Grizzlies 101-76 on Sunday.
Blaylock went 4-for-6 from the three-point line and chipped in nine assists and five rebounds as the Hawks won for the fourth time in five games.
"When your leading scorer is out someone has to step up and do the job," Blaylock said."Today it was me. I felt like I had the hot hand today and our defense created a lot of opportunities for us to shine at the other other end."
The Hawks shut Vancouver down right from the start, limiting the Grizzlies to just two points in the first nine minutes of the game.
Vancouver tied a franchise record for fewest points in a period as it trailed 28-7. The Grizzlies made just one of their first 15 shots and were down 22-2 with just under three minutes to play.
"We are starting to play like we were at the start of the year," said Hawks' coach Lenny Wilkens."We made a commitment that we have to defend. It doesn't matter what point in the game you are at, you have to play hard and you have to carry that through the end of the game. When we are active and alert like that, the defense will create the offense."
Alan Henderson scored 20 points for the Hawks while Christian Laettner came off the bench to chip in with 18 points and 11 rebounds in just 21 minutes.
Dikembe Mutombo had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta.
Bryant Reeves and Pete Chilcutt each had 16 points for the Grizzlies while Antonio Daniels added 14.
Atlanta held Shareef Abdur-Rahim to just 10 points, completing shutting down the second-year forward inside.
"He is a good player, we weren't going to let him go 1-on-1 all night," Wilkens said."Chucky (Brown) did a real good job on him and we got some help. He's too good a player to handle by yourself."
Vancouver shot just 34.5 percent from the field in the game.
The Hawks led 54-31 at halftime and 78-46 after three quarters.
Notes: Atlanta guard Steve Smith was a late scratch from the contest with a sore right knee. Smith is expected back in the lineup for the Hawks' next game on Friday at home against Denver ... Vancouver activated center Ivano Newbill on Sunday and placed guard Doug West on the injured list with a right hip contusion. Newbill missed the last five games with tendinitis in his left knee ... Grizzlies' guard Bobby Hurley sat out Sunday with a sprained ankle ... Hawks forward Greg Anderson registered the 2,000th field goal of his career in the second quarter.
©1998 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. With Steve Smith nursing a sore right knee, Blaylock came through with a 20-point performance as the Hawks defeated the Vancouver Grizzlies 101-76 on Sunday.
Blaylock went 4-for-6 from the three-point line and chipped in nine assists and five rebounds as the Hawks won for the fourth time in five games.
"When your leading scorer is out someone has to step up and do the job," Blaylock said."Today it was me. I felt like I had the hot hand today and our defense created a lot of opportunities for us to shine at the other other end."
The Hawks shut Vancouver down right from the start, limiting the Grizzlies to just two points in the first nine minutes of the game.
Vancouver tied a franchise record for fewest points in a period as it trailed 28-7. The Grizzlies made just one of their first 15 shots and were down 22-2 with just under three minutes to play.
"We are starting to play like we were at the start of the year," said Hawks' coach Lenny Wilkens."We made a commitment that we have to defend. It doesn't matter what point in the game you are at, you have to play hard and you have to carry that through the end of the game. When we are active and alert like that, the defense will create the offense."
Alan Henderson scored 20 points for the Hawks while Christian Laettner came off the bench to chip in with 18 points and 11 rebounds in just 21 minutes.
Dikembe Mutombo had 11 points and 12 rebounds for Atlanta.
Bryant Reeves and Pete Chilcutt each had 16 points for the Grizzlies while Antonio Daniels added 14.
Atlanta held Shareef Abdur-Rahim to just 10 points, completing shutting down the second-year forward inside.
"He is a good player, we weren't going to let him go 1-on-1 all night," Wilkens said."Chucky (Brown) did a real good job on him and we got some help. He's too good a player to handle by yourself."
Vancouver shot just 34.5 percent from the field in the game.
The Hawks led 54-31 at halftime and 78-46 after three quarters.
Notes: Atlanta guard Steve Smith was a late scratch from the contest with a sore right knee. Smith is expected back in the lineup for the Hawks' next game on Friday at home against Denver ... Vancouver activated center Ivano Newbill on Sunday and placed guard Doug West on the injured list with a right hip contusion. Newbill missed the last five games with tendinitis in his left knee ... Grizzlies' guard Bobby Hurley sat out Sunday with a sprained ankle ... Hawks forward Greg Anderson registered the 2,000th field goal of his career in the second quarter.
©1998 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed
