Hawks, too much for ECF Champs

Pic cred to Hawks Twitter

By: Bryce Sparling (@1788sports, @BryceS89)

On a night that saw geriatric NBA superstar Dwyane Wade make his Cleveland debut, the Hawks were having none of the nostalgic bromance reunion between Wade and Lebron.

The Cavaliers started the game off strong going 3 for 7 from beyond the arc and opening up an 8 point lead at the end of the quarter. Dewayne Dedmon can be thanked for keeping the deficit marginal in the 1st by hitting 7 of the last Hawks 13 points.

The second quarter was where the tide started to turn. Dennis started to cut and Bazemore found his groove. Dennis went 2 for 5 from the field in the second quarter including 1 three pointer, but played a pivotal “slasher” role in the comeback. Baze, following in Master Shredder’s footsteps, went 3 for 4 in the second including a very nice dunk assisted by Dennis. Throw in Luke Babbit & Ersan Ilyasova’s threes and it’s a recipe for a comeback. Atlanta ended the half on an Ersan 3 pointer to bring the Hawks within 3 points.

Starting off the third quarter with a 21-7 run helped them wrangle the lead away from Cleveland, one in fact that was never returned. The third saw much of the same strategy as the second quarter. Dennis running the pick and roll with Dedmon with success. Dedmon, Schroder and Taurean Prince combined to go 8 for 11 in the third quarter with 3 three pointers. Rookie standout John Collins would unfortunately leave the floor during the third quarter due to an apparent back injury. He would not return for the fourth quarter.

Atlanta opened up the fourth quarter with a 6 point lead and they did nothing but add to that during the 12 minutes. Luke Babbitt added another 2 three point FG’s to his game total to help extend the Hawks lead. Bench players Josh Magette and Jeremy Evans also saw minutes in the fourth quarter. The duo combined for 3 made FG’s an 1 made three pointer.

Atlanta looked good in its first pre-season win. There were a lot of positives to take away. Dedmon and Dennis seem to be on the same page already, which was lacking last year with Dwight in the paint. Bazemore looks more comfortable. Last season he was thinking too much. So far this preseason, he’s just out there to ball. Collins has energy for days. I can see this youngster coming off the bench in the third and fourth when the starters are gassed and giving this team a real shot in the arm.

The next preseason game is on Friday against the Detroit Pistons in Detroit. We’ll have you covered here on 1788 Sports.