Ending a long Western drought By SEKOU SMITH The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Published on: 02/16/06 Los Angeles — Apparently all that chatter from the Hawks about needing a break was just talk. They didn't play like a team itching for a vacation Wednesday night at Staples Center when they rallied from a 15-point first quarter deficit for a stunning 114-110 win over the Los Angeles Lakers. Joe Johnson didn't need a break, not after finishing with a career-high 15 assists to go along with his 20 points. Josh Smith, who tied his career highs in points (21) and rebounds (15), certainly didn't look like he needed a break. Smith and Johnson hooked up on the biggest sequence of a game full of them in the final minute. With the Lakers trailing 109-107 and 50 seconds to play, Bryant stole a Royal Ivey pass and flipped it to Smush Parker for what looked like a game-tying dunk. But Smith ran him down, the length of the floor, and blocked the shot. Bryant got the rebound but fell down and Josh Childress scooped up the ball as the Hawks went back the other way. Ivey's baseline jumper went off the front of the rim and Johnson was there put it back in for a 111-107 Hawks lead with 22.7 seconds to play. Childress, who also finished with 21 points, knocked down three of four three throws in the final 14 seconds to preserve the win for the Hawks, 16-34 heading into this weekend's All-Star break. Not even Bryant's 39 points could deter the Hawks on this night. Their urgency might have had something to do with their desire to erase yet another black mark from their resume this season. They played like a team should when they haven't scored a road win over a Western Conference foe since Nov. 12, 2004, when they beat the Hornets in New Orleans. For anyone counting, that was a jaw-dropping 23 straight road losses to Western Conference opponents. But much about these Hawks has changed since their 2-16 start to the season. Two months ago they never would have been able to hold on to a lead like this, in an environment like this, against a great player like Bryant. Granted, the Lakers did everything in their power to assist the Hawks' cause — they missed nine free throws in the last six minutes and allowed the Hawks to dominate them on the glass (42-25). A 10-2 start to the second half saw the Hawks take a comfortable 65-59 lead. But it only lasted for a couple of minutes. The Lakers came right back with a dunk from rookie Andrew Bynum and deep 3-pointer from Bryant to get within a point, 54-64, with seven minutes left. They traded blows the rest of the quarter, with Bryant, Devean George and Brian Cook all knocking down 3-pointers while the Hawks countered with Johnson, Zaza Pachulia and Salim Stoudamire late. Stoudamire scored on consecutive runners in the final 22 seconds of the quarter. But the Lakers got two free throws from rookie Ronny Turiaf, his first points of the season since recovering from heart surgery, and led 84-83 to start the fourth quarter. The Hawks trailed by just four, 57-53, at halftime. Getting the deficit back to that workable margin, however, is what sapped much of their energy early. They were stand still witnesses for much of the Lakers' early game running, which helped the home team build a 15-point lead in the first quarter. With Bryant directing the show — he finished the first half with 21 points and eight assists — it wasn't tough to figure out the formula. The Hawks just appeared to be sapped on the both ends of the floor until Childress drained a 3-pointer with 4:13 to play in the first quarter and helped put the brakes on an 18-4 Lakers run. Johnson did his best to match Bryant play for play, he finished the first half with 11 points and 10 assists. The Hawks took leads twice in the second quarter, both times on Childress (11 first half points) free throws. Bryant sparked a late run, though, as the Lakers finished the half with an 8-4 spurt to preserve their slim cushion. 資料來源 http://www.ajc.com/hawks/content/sports/hawks/stories/0216hawks.html --

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