Hawks 119 Kings 97

Boxscore

Gameflow

Team	Poss	Off Eff	eFG%	FT Rate	OR%	TO%
SAC	93.6	1.04	43.7	41.8	28.3	13.9
ATL	93.6	1.27	60.5	17.4	44.4	20.3

The Kings didn't/couldn't* play any defense last night. The Hawks didn't play any defense for three quarters. (Sacramento scored 1.22 points per possession over the first three quarters.) It took just six minutes of good basketball from the Hawks on both ends of the floor to open the fourth quarter to blow the game open.

*reader's choice

In the face of no resistance all eight Hawks who played meaningful minutes had productive offensive nights. Defensive credit to Acie Law IV, Flip Murray, Josh Smith, and Al Horford* for putting the game away early in the fourth. Sympathy to Kevin Martin for playing so well on such a bad team and further sympathy to Sacramento fans who must spend their days waiting for the draft and trying to convince themselves that Spencer Hawes and Jason Thompson have a bright future.

*Half-credit each to Joe Johnson and Mike Bibby who split time early in the fourth quarter.

Josh Smith:

"It’s fun when everybody can score and contribute to a win."

Al Horford:

"We weren’t on our game defensively, but we’re going to have nights like that. We did what we had to do to win."

Horford on Spencer Hawes' hard foul:

"I know I’m going to feel it in the morning."

Mike Woodson:

"We picked it up in the third and fourth quarter. The way we started the game, I didn’t think we would ever get to that point. We had no defensive presence in the first half. You can’t start the game the way we did, thinking we are going to outscore teams, without having some sort of defensive presence."

Smith, again:

"We didn't want to lose to a team like Sacramento. No offense to them, but (after) beating New Orleans and Utah, teams who are on top of the Western Conference, we didn't want to let ourselves down by losing this game. We're just trying to separate ourselves from the pack. Miami's right on our heels still."

Kevin Martin:

"We stopped playing together tonight, and this is happens when you play selfish basketball. I think we all learned a little lesson tonight. They were aggressive from the start. Al Horford is a load in the paint, and Josh Smith is one of the most athletic guys in the league, so that made it tough for us."

LINKS

• The Human Highlight Blog celebrates Al Horford:

We've been shining the bronze bust of Al Horford out here for quite a few games now, but we must add that we've seen a dramatic improvement on his finishing inside after contact. It's just another brick in the wall in what should be a nightly memo to Mike Woodson that the game should, in some part, go through Horford in the pivot. When you have a big man that can pass (oh by the way, Horford had 6 assists) and has great hands (my hand twin!), you have to leverage that high percentage option. Well you don't have to, but you could be considered foolish or stubborn to not do so.

• At Sactown Royalty, Tom Ziller details the ten Sacramento possessions that helped turn a six-point Atlanta lead into a 15-point Atlanta lead.
• At Peachtree Hoops, Drew questions the importance of the Hawks' 40th win.