Atlanta Hawks win 13th straight game on MLK Day

• Joeff Davis
• Forward Mike Scott scores two of his twenty points with a driving layup in the fourth quarter to put the Atlanta Hawks up by 6.

The Atlanta Hawks won their 13th straight game on Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, defeating the Detroit Pistons at home in Philips Arena. It was not pretty. And maybe that is fitting given the backdrop of this season which started with both the Hawks general manager and the owner leaving the team because of racially insensitive comments — episodes that seem far in the distance at this point in the season.

While the Hawks appeared sluggish throughout Monday’s game, the players pulled out an 11-point victory, defeating the Pistons 93-82 in the afternoon game.

It was the team’s first game back from a triumphant road trip in which they added 4 more win to this unexpectedly victorious season, beating the likes of the Chicago Bulls and Toronto Raptors on the road, the third and fourth best teams in the Eastern Conference. It was understandable that players would appear a bit slow — during the road trip they played four games in five days, with a Friday night game in Toronto followed by a Saturday night game in Chicago. The Atlanta Hawks, with 34 wins and only eight losses, now have the best record in the Eastern Conference and the most victories of any team in the NBA.

The Hawks enjoyed a spirited start to the game, running up an 11-2 lead with six minutes left in the first quarter. But the Pistons rallied back and trailed the Hawks by only three points at halftime. But in the end it was yet another Hawks player being the hero, on a team which seems to have a different one every game. Mike Scott came off the bench to score 20 points — including eight vital points in the fourth quarter to help turn what was a close game at halftime into an 11-point Hawks victory.

? ? ?

• Joeff Davis
• Hawks’ league-leading defense came up big again, giving up only 12 points to the Pistons in the first quarter.

Despite the Pistons losing season record so far, they came to Atlanta having won seven games in a row on the road and 11 of their last 13 contests overall. The Hawks, with the no. 1 defense in the league, held the Pistons to only 12 points in the first quarter — the Pistons worst-scoring quarter of the year. But the statistic which really stands out is the Pistons only making 57 percent of their free throws (it seems like any high schooler could make five out of 10, right?) And the Pistons’ 15 of 26 showing at the free-throw line could have made the game a lot closer if they converted like professionals. Maybe this is a tribute to the much-maligned Atlanta crowd, which finally seems to be making some noise during opponents’ free-throw attempts. The MLK Day crowd, according to team officials, was 19,108 — a sell-out.

• Joeff Davis
• Atlanta Hawks Coach Mike Budenholzer called the victory an ‘ugly game’ during his post-game news conference.

After the game, at a standing-room only press conference, Coach Mike Budenholzer called it an “ugly game.” Yet the redemption story continues. A team that started the season blemished by racist comments is now celebrating on MLK Day.

• Joeff Davis
• A special player introduction led by Hawks Announcer Ryan Cameron and a choir ensemble led by Pastor John Battle, a former Hawk, was part of the MLK Day festivities.

“Its great to play,” Hawks star Al Horford said after the game in the locker room. “This is just a special day to think about how far we have come as a country.” When asked how playing without an owner and a GM affects the team, he said “we are not worried about that.”

The Hawks have now won 27 of their last 29 games. On Wednesday night, the team will go for its 14th-straight victory against the Indiana Pacers at Phillips Arena.

• Joeff Davis
• Mike Scott greets fans at the end of the game. Mike Scott scored 20 off the bench to lead the Hawks to the team’s 13th victory in a row.