The Atlanta Hawks held off the Oklahoma City Thunder at home late to hold on to a 106-100 victory on Monday night (Tuesday in Australia) led by the duo of Paul Millsap and Jeff Teague.
Advertisement
According to oddsmakers from oddsmakers at MyBookie.ag, Oklahoma City is favored on the road, as the Thunder are getting odds of -3 points against the Hawks.
The Atlanta Hawks needed a win on Monday after a brutal four-game stretch that ended with a thud on Saturday night. But after a close fought second half and some Russell Westbrook heroics, this team ran out of steam, looking away from its D.C. born superstar Kevin Durant and asking Westbrook to iso-win the game. Al Horford scored 10 points and was the only starter to reach double figures in a game that got out of hand when Atlanta was outscored 31-12 in the second quarter. “I felt like we kept our composure really well”. Westbrook then knocked down a jumper to push Oklahoma City’s lead to four. Atlanta has been inconsistent this season and won’t be able to stay with Durant and Russell Westbrook in the transition game. Durant had a cool 25 points, 6 rebounds, 6 assists, and 4 blocks on 9-of-18 but let Westbrook take over late in the fourth. That’s the type of move that we’re used to seeing from Westbrook, not the type of move that he falls victim to. Seemingly on cue, the Thunder put together an 8-0 run to knot the game at 92-92 with 3:53 to play, and it was Westbrook at the controls in scoring the final six points during the spurt.
Thunder lost for the first time since he rejoined the lineup. Sefolosha did have nine rebounds, six assists and four steals. After a lovely block by Millsap against OKC’s Serge Ibaka, Teague gave the Hawks the lead at 98-96 with a tricky lay-up, and on the other end, the Hawks got yet another stop after a phenomenal substitution from Mike Budenholzer. Ten rebounds in 16 minutes is extremely efficient, yet Kanter can’t seem to earn more run. The forward left the Hawks for the Raptors as a free agent in the offseason.
The Spurs had one last chance, but Kawhi Leonard and Tony Parker each missed three-point attempts in the final seconds. Chris Bosh played through an illness to add 21 points for the Heat.
Wade scored 30 for Miami, who cut a 14-point deficit to one in the fourth quarter but never led after half-time.
The Pistons built a 23-point lead in the first half before the Rockets got back into the game by constantly intentionally fouling Drummond – he went 4-for-18 from the line.
Advertisement
Nikola Vucevic had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Victor Oladipo added 12 points for the Magic, who, like the Pelicans, entered the contest at 0-3. He did not score but helped limit Durant to 25 points through three quarters, including 10 in the third period.
