Hawks Lose Again

The Hawks once again had a bad quarter that doomed them. Tonight it was in the very first quarter, and the San Antonio Spurs went on to defeat them 98-93.
The Spurs, who played without stars Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili, had to count on Tony Parker to really help them win this game. Parker had a double-double with 23 points and twelve assists to lead the Spurs to their first road win since January 2nd. Matt Bonner scored seventeen points off the bench, he hit all three of his 3-point attempts. Tiago Splitter and Kawhi Leonard each scored fourteen points to help in the winning effort. The Spurs have now won four straight and their record stands at 32-11.
The Hawks troubles happened in the beginning tonight, as they were outscored in the first quarter 25-16. The Hawks did claw their way back into the game, and even tied it in the fourth quarter at 72-all, but they just couldn't finish it off. Before the game, it was announced that Lou Williams is out for the rest of the season with a torn ACL in his knee. The injury occurred in the game on Friday against the Brooklyn Nets. To make matters worse, Devin Harris rolled his ankle in the fourth quarter and he left the game and didn't return. That leaves the Hawks with only one point guard, Jeff Teague.
Josh Smith led the Hawks with 21 points in the loss. Kyle Korver was next with nineteen points, he his five of his eight shots from downtown. Teague scored sixteen points and Harris scored thirteen points off the bench before he hurt his ankle. Al Horford returned after missing the game on Friday against Brooklyn and pulled down fifteen rebounds to lead Atlanta. The Hawks were again without Anthony Morrow and DeShawn Stevenson who are both still out with injuries. Coach Larry Drew said the Hawks might need to sign someone with all the injuries they are suffering from.
The Hawks are now 22-18 on the season and have lost eight of their last ten games. Their next game will be on Monday at 2 p.m., their annual game on Martin Luther King Jr. Day. Their opponent this year will be the Minnesota Timberwolves. The Timberwolves are currently 17-20 and they won their last game, snapping a five-game losing streak. Before the losing streak, their last win was against the Hawks back on January 8th.

Josh Smith gets set to shoot a free throw, he scored 21 points to lead the Hawks in their loss to the Spurs on Saturday night.
Photo Courtesy of sports.yahoo.com