Sixers trounced by East-leading Hawks
ATLANTA HAWKS coach Bud Budenholzer could only roll his eyes and shrug his shoulders when he heard the question yet again about how his team tries to emulate the system of the San Antonio Spurs.
It's a fair, and obvious question, as the Hawks have elevated themselves to Eastern Conference elite status and have done it with the type of play Budenholzer witnessed as an assistant for 17 years under Gregg Popovich - good ball movement, unselfish play and a desire to make good things great.
His team wasn't far from great last night as it throttled the 76ers, 105-87, for its 23rd win in 25 games. The Hawks did it, once again, by sharing the ball (34 assists on 42 baskets), getting balanced scoring (five players in double figures, none more than 21) and hitting from long range (12-for-23 from three). And they did it while resting starters Jeff Teague, Paul Millsap and DeMarre Carroll.
"We're just conscious of keeping our players healthy and in the most productive state that they can be," Budenholzer said. "If it's an injury or fatigue or anything like that, we can get ahead. I've obviously seen firsthand the positives of being conscious of your players' health, not just for the season but for their careers. I learned a lot there [in San Antonio], but you try to do things in your own way.
"If it's good, solid, fundamental basketball on the court, then that's what we want to be doing. I think San Antonio does things very solid, very fundamental on the court."
It was a methodical win by the Hawks, who improved to 30-8. They upped a four-point lead late in the second quarter to a 12-point advantage at the break, aided by three consecutive three-pointers to end the first half, two by Kyle Korver.
"The three threes that they hit at the end of the first half, it was an ugly game, but it was a game," up until that point, said Sixers coach Brett Brown, who coached alongside Budenholzer with the Spurs. "All of the sudden, bam, bam, bam, and it balloons out. I thought from after that point, the energy wasn't at all what we need and what we want."
The formula to the success isn't surprising if you're familiar with the Spurs, which Budenholzer very well is. Still, it takes players buying in and sometimes making adjustments to their individual games.
"I think the [Hawks'] sneaking-up period is done," said former Sixer Elton Brand, who came off the bench and contributed six points and seven rebounds in just under 20 minutes. "We've beaten teams that are way above .500. We've played and beaten Dallas, Houston, the Chicago Bulls, at Cleveland. The sneaking up is done. This is a good team.
"It's the system, for sure, but it's also the guys in the system. These guys are selfless and they just want to win the ballgame. They don't even care about stats except the 'W' that they get at the end. And that's truly [player] 1 through 15. That's how we run."
The Sixers (7-30), who saw their modest two-game winning streak snapped, were paced by Michael Carter-Williams (20 points, nine rebounds) and K.J. McDaniels (14 points). Jerami Grant scored 13 and Tony Wroten scored 10 before leaving in the fourth quarter with a sprained knee. After the game, Brown said he doubted Wroten would travel to Toronto for tonight's game against the Raptors.
Al Horford posted a triple-double in just over 29 minutes for Atlanta, collecting 21 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Kent Bazemore scored 17 off the bench, while Korver added 15 and Dennis Schroder had 13 and six assists.
Along with its terrific offensive showing, Atlanta also was very good at the defensive end, limiting the Sixers to just 40.8 percent shooting from the floor (31-for-76).
"I think that they have very skilled players that are well-coached," Brown said. "It is more than they just have shooters, and they do have shooters. The pass is still king and they play extremely unselfishly. I think the thing that flies under the radar more than it should is they're a very good defensive team. They don't do it in a way that makes people pay attention too much. It's done because of intelligent positioning, good schemes. It's a smart, veteran team that's well-coached."