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Hawks pull away from Pelicans late

By Peter Finney Jr., The Sports Xchange
Atlanta Hawks' Kyle Korver (26) and Pero Antic of Macedonia (6) congratulate each other. Photo by David Tulis/UPI
Atlanta Hawks' Kyle Korver (26) and Pero Antic of Macedonia (6) congratulate each other. Photo by David Tulis/UPI | License Photo

NEW ORLEANS -- The Atlanta Hawks appeared dazed. They frittered away a 17-point fourth quarter lead were tied at 108 with the winless and injury-ravaged New Orleans Pelicans inside the final four minutes Friday night at the Smoothie King Center.

Into this imperfect scenario came 13-year veteran forward Kyle Korver, who turned in a perfect performance.

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Korver broke out of a long-range shooting slump with 22 points, making all eight shots he took, including a go-ahead 3-pointer with 3:53 left, to lift the Hawks (6-1) to a 121-115 victory over the Pelicans (0-5).

Korver entered the game as a question mark because he is coming back slowly from a surgically repaired right ankle. In his previous two games, Korver was 1-of-10 from 3-point range, and he totaled just 15 points in road victories over Charlotte and Miami.

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But when Korver came off a tight screen and nailed the go-ahead 3-pointer from the top of the key -- his fourth 3 of the game -- that ignited a seven-point run that gave Atlanta a lead it never relinquished.

"It was just out our natural flow of offense," Korver said of his jumper. "It's a shot that I shoot a lot -- and I used to make a lot. It was good to kind of get that going again.

"Things are starting to come together," Korver added. "I'm not going to say it's all there yet, but I've been feeling better ... finding my rhythm shooting the ball in practice. I just needed to carry it over into the games. Hopefully, I'll keep it going because it's been pretty bad up to this point.

Korver's shooting exhibition overcame a career-tying scoring night by Pelicans forward Anthony Davis, who finished with 43 points on 14-of-23 shooting from the field and 14-of-16 free throws.

Davis had 33 points in the second half, but the Pelicans dropped their fifth straight game. Davis had made only 3-of-12 shots in a 103-94 loss to Orlando on Tuesday night, and all three baskets came on dunks.

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"I knew I was due for one," Davis said. "The past couple of days I was constantly watching film hours after practice and just working on my game. I was trying to get it back. We were struggling and I just wanted to come out aggressive. I didn't want to lose another one."

After Korver's shot made it 111-108, the Pelicans committed a turnover on the other end, and guard Jeff Teague hit a fast-break layup to give Atlanta a 113-108 lead.

Atlanta then got two more free throws on a freak play. Teague drove to the basket and fired up a layup, only to have the ball hit a camera behind the basket. The officials didn't see it, Teague rebounded the ball, was fouled and made two foul shots for a 115-108 lead.

"We needed to get a couple of stops," said Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer. "That was the message. I think we were happy with the pace, but I don't think we were happy exchanging baskets."

The Hawks placed six players in double figures, including forward Paul Millsap with 22, Teague with 19 and reserve guard Dennis Schroeder with 15, including 12 in a 32-19 second quarter in which Atlanta took control.

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Besides Davis, the Pelicans got 22 points from guard Eric Gordon and 13 from forward Luke Babbitt.

"I think we did a lot of good things by getting AD loose out on the floor and then in the post with a little movement," Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry said. "He was able to do what he does best, but we have to keep plugging away and get over the hump."

The Hawks took their biggest lead at 96-79 by running off the first seven points of the fourth quarter. But that lead began to evaporate when the Pelicans put together a 17-6 run in the next 4:06 -- with Davis scoring 10 points -- to cut the margin to 102-96 with 6:41 left.

NOTES: This is the Pelicans' first 0-5 start since 2004-05. ... In winning its sixth straight, the Hawks are now 4-0 on the road. ... Pelicans coach Alvin Gentry laughed off suggestions that F Anthony Davis was "struggling" in the team's new up-tempo offense. Davis shot just 37.9 percent from the field during the Pelicans' 0-4 start. "It's ridiculous to say he's off to a slow start," Gentry said. "We've played four games. He played one pretty good game, and he's been triple-teamed in three. I don't have any complaints. I guarantee you at the end of the year, he'll be fine." ... C Omer Asik (calf) sat out another game. ... Atlanta coach Mike Budenholzer said he did not think the short-handed Pelicans should panic. "They'd probably like to talk to the commissioner about playing Golden State twice to start the season," Budenholzer said. "That doesn't seem fair." ... Unlike the Pelicans, the Hawks have been healthy so far. "That definitely has had an impact on the start of the season," Budenholzer said.

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