Building consistency Hawks' goal By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 01/24/06 The effort Hawks coach Mike Woodson has been asking for from his team for weeks was crystallized in a simple eight-second stretch of the third quarter of Monday night's win over Indiana at Philips Arena. With the Hawks trailing by 10 points, they finally bowed up. Josh Smith raced up the floor after a Hawks turnover and blocked Stephen Jackson's fast break layup. The Hawks turned that turnover into a fast break opportunity of their own that resulted in an Al Harrington pass to Joe Johnson for a 3-pointer that sparked the Hawks' comeback win. "That was the biggest play of the night," Woodson said. "We never looked back after that." But when the game ended that sequence was lost in a flurry of big offensive plays that were made in the fourth quarter, when the Hawks had to hold off the Pacers after taking a 15-point lead. But it wasn't lost on Woodson, or his team for that matter. It's plays like that, particularly when they are made, that have meant the difference between winning and losing for the Hawks (11-28), who will host LeBron James and Cleveland Wednesday night. For once, the Hawks got better as the game wore on. They made about everything they put up in the second half — 21-of-33 shots from the floor — and turned the ball over just eight times in 24 minutes while outscoring the Pacers 56-38 after halftime, when they trailed by eight. "We made shots, we milked plays and we just didn't crack," Woodson said. "That was nice to see." The only thing better, he said, would be to see it again. And again and again. "Coach has been on me specifically about making those kinds of plays," Smith said. "Normally it's a dunk or a big shot that swings the momentum in a game. It's not often that a defensive play is the thing you point to that turned a game around. But that was the play right there." Still, the Hawks have to find a way to bottle Monday night's performance. They've got to find a way to duplicate the community approach they used to beat the Pacers each and every night, as opposed to once every four or five nights. And it's something they've talked about, playing with the same kind of confidence and Harrington's favorite word, "swagger," every time out. "We sat down and talked and everybody was saying we had to get back to playing like that," said rookie forward Marvin Williams, whose 13 points off the bench, on 5-for-5 shooting from the floor, was another crucial element. "That's where you win games, with your confidence in each other and your execution." The group effort always helps, too. "We win most of our games when we share the ball and move the ball around and everyone is involved," reserve point guard Tyronn Lue said. "Everyone got involved in the fourth quarter and that's what we need to happen if we're going to win games." 原文轉載 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0125hawks.html --

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