The Atlanta Hawks are making it very difficult for the teams just underneath them to even come close to them in the Eastern Conference playoff race; they had the good fortune of playing the Memphis Grizzlies Monday night.  Six Hawks scored in double-digits, leading Atlanta to the easy 116-99 victory over Memphis at DeadEx FedEx Forum.

Both teams shot pretty well as Atlanta shot 55.8% from the floor, while Memphis didn’t shoot badly either as they shot 53.9%; perhaps the difference is that the Grizzlies stunk at the free-throw line, shooting a paltry 47.4% (9-of-19).  The game was just like the final score indicated as the Hawks led for the vast majority of the game; while Atlanta led by as much as 38 late in the third quarter, the Grizzlies made things interesting for a bit as they actually chipped away at the lead and go to within 12 points.  But Atlanta’s early advantage was simply too much for the Grizzlies.

Atlanta had 6 players in double-digits, led by Josh Smith with 26 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and a block while Joe Johnson and Al Horford scored 19 apiece - Johnson also drained 4 treys, grabbed a rebound and dished out 8 assists while Horford grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out an assist; Mike Bibby added 17, including 3 treys, 2 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 steals.  Memphis was led by Rudy Gay with 29 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals while reserves Kyle Lowry and Juan Carlos Navarro added 17 each - with Lowry grabbing 3 rebounds and dishing out 2 assists while Navarro drained a trio of 3-pointers, grabbed 2 rebounds and dished out 2 assists.  Atlanta (34-40) returns home to host the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday while Memphis (19-55) stays home to host the New York Knicks - also on Wednesday.

Ballhype: hype it up! Stumble it! AddThis Social Bookmark Button