Jazz streak over Hawks now at 7 By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 03/18/06 For months the Hawks have been criticized for passing up Rookie of the Year frontrunner Chris Paul in last June's draft. But there was another heralded point guard drafted ahead of Paul. Deron Williams blitzed the Hawks for a game and career-high 28 points as the Utah Jazz extended the Hawks' losing streak to four games with a 111-101 win in what turned out to be a layup and dunk-a-thon for the visiting team Friday night at Philips Arena. A star on the nation's top-ranked college team this time a year ago, Williams looked as comfortable Friday as he did in guiding Illinois to the NCAA title game last spring. Williams, who the Hawks passed on in favor of Marvin Williams in last year's draft, made 11-of-13 shots from the floor and all four of his 3-pointers. He scored 14 points in each half and managed the game in near flawless fashion, with five assists and just one turnover in 35 minutes. "He didn't play like a rookie tonight," Hawks coach Mike Woodson said. "He played extremely well. He made shots, got the ball where it needed to go and he did a good job defensively, I thought. It was just a well-rounded game for him." When the Hawks rallied to within two points, 91-93, with just over seven minutes to play in the game, Williams took over. He scored on a driving layup, a 26-footer and another driving layup over the next two minutes as the Jazz pushed the lead back to eight points. "He hit all the big shots, got into the paint when he needed to and found guys for easy looks," Hawks co-captain Al Harrington said. "He was a general out there for them," said fellow Hawks co-captain Joe Johnson, who led his team with 25 points and five assists and just one turnover. It was another bitter defeat for the Hawks (20-43), who after weeks of pushing just the right buttons on most nights can't seem to find their mark. But for Williams and the Jazz (31-34), it was a win they had to have in order to keep their faint playoff hopes alive. "We needed a win bad," Williams said. "We're in the race for the playoffs. We had dropped two straight on this road trip. We needed this one and we need the next one. We needed to hit free throws and make stops at the end, and we did that." It's too bad St. Patrick wasn't the patron saint of size and defensive prowess, because the Hawks could have used his help in both areas. They were bludgeoned inside by the Utah's towering frontline of Mehmet Okur (24 points and 10 rebounds), Carlos Boozer (21 and 11) and Andrei Kirilenko (18 points, eight rebounds and five blocks). The Hawks fought back with 19 points and five rebounds from Harrington, 19 points and career-high 15 rebounds from Zaza Pachulia and 18 points, six assists, five rebounds and two blocks from Josh Smith. But the Hawks were outscored 54-40 in the paint were unable to get the defensive stops when they needed them late. "They played well and we gave up way too many layups," Smith said. "Okur was tough in the first half, Williams seemed to pick it up in the second half and Kirilenko hurt us all night. We just couldn't get over the hump. And every time we got a big stop, we couldn't convert on the other end." 资料来源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0318hawks.html --

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