| 20 April 2011
The Hawks almost took game 2 of the playoffs from the Magic, almost. But as you well know, almost counts only in horseshoes and hand grenades. Almost doesn't get the job done. Almost is still losing.
The Hawks played the Magic close, very close for most of game 2. After half time though, the Hawks let down just a little and that was enough to give the Magic some room to breathe and let them take the lead. The final score was close 88 to 82, six points difference, but it was the third quarter that was the difference. The Magic's Dwight Howard had to play the full 48 minutes of the game. It was something he has done only one other time this season. The Magic turned up the defense especially in the third quarter holding the Hawks to only 12 points that quarter and an overall 39% shooting.
Howard had 33 points and 19 rebounds on the game providing the bulk of the Magic's offense and defense yet again. He was also 15 of 19 from the charity stripe on the game. The Hawks bounced back in the fourth quarter shooting 52.4 percent, but it wasn't quite enough to get the victory. The Hawks also kept the Magic off the three point shot holding them to just 21% on the game. They didn't even hit a three until the first minute of the third quarter. Even so, they found a way to win, mostly on the back of Dwight Howard.
The Magic, mostly Howard, outrebounded the Hawks 52 to 39 and 20 to 13 on the offensive boards. Both teams committed a lot of turnovers on the game, 15 for the Hawks and 16 for the Magic. The Hawks had 4 players in double digit points including Crawford with a team leading 25, Josh Smith with 17, Joe Johnson with 14 and Al Horford with 10. Marvin Williams and Zaza had 3 offensive rebounds each on the game. The Hawks had 7 steals, 7 blocked shots and 2 blocked shot attempts. The Hawks shot 35% from beyond the arc and an off 65% from the stripe. The Hawks are generally much better from the line.
Howard had a little more help offensively in this game with 13 points from Nelson and 10 from Turkoglu. Bass and Anderson both had 4 offensive boards for the Magic on the game. The Magic were only 35% from the floor but were over 80% from the stripe. They continued to be stifled beyond the arc as has been the case versus the Hawks all season long.
The two teams do not meet again until Friday in Atlanta. Phillips Arena is sure to be rocking with the series tied 1-1. Let's hope the Hawks can get a win. The game will be on ESPN2 at 8pm ET. Let's Go Hawks!!!
