• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Teague leads Hawks past Hornets

Jan 30, 2012 - 3:38 AM New Orleans, LA (Sports Network) - Jeff Teague netted a career-high 24 points, leading the Atlanta Hawks to a 94-72 drubbing of the struggling New Orleans Hornets at New Orleans Arena.

Willie Green finished with 16 points off the bench and Marvin Williams scored 14 points for the Hawks, who have won four of their last five games.

Emeka Okafor led the Hornets with 13 points and eight rebounds, while Jarrett Jack and Greivis Vasquez finished with 10 points apiece, with the latter adding eight boards. New Orleans dropped to 4-16 on the season and has lost 10 of its last 11 games.

Atlanta came out of the gates on fire, ripping off a 27-6 run to start the game before Jack nailed a three-pointer to finally end the flurry. The Hawks shot 52.4 percent in the quarter and led 27-11 after 12 minutes.

"It was key," Hawks head coach Larry Drew said of his team's fast start." I'm most proud about this win is the way we maintained our composure. This team has been a pesky team for us and for a lot of other teams and they have been right there at the end, I'm just glad we were able to come out with a win."

Green drained a three-pointer less than three minutes into the second quarter to put Atlanta ahead 33-15, but New Orleans came to life after that, using a 19-7 burst to cut the deficit to six with 3:33 to play before the break.

But Joe Johnson nailed a floater with 1:18 left to put the Hawks back up by double-digits and they led 46-35 at halftime.

Trailing 52-41 with 8:27 to play in the third quarter, the Hornets put together a quick 7-1 burst to cut the deficit to 53-48, but the Hawks answered with a 17-2 run to take a comfortable 73-50 advantage with 49.9 seconds remaining in the third frame. They led 76-52 heading into the fourth.

The Hawks put it on cruise control in the fourth and led by at least 20 the entire final stanza for the easy win.

"I thought the effort in the first quarter was kind of there, but not really assertive the way it was." Hornets head coach Monty Williams said. "It's certainly a game that you have to flush around the toilet, but I was really disappointed in the effort tonight especially at home with a day in between games."

Game Notes

Sunday marked the first meeting of the season between the teams. New Orleans won both meetings last season...Atlanta shot 43.9 percent from the floor and 12-of-23 from three-point range, while New Orleans shot just 37.5 percent from the field and 3-of-10 from beyond the arc...Atlanta got the better of the play on the glass, outrebounding New Orleans, 42-36...The Hawks turned 16 Hornets turnovers into 24 points...Atlanta grabbed 14 offensive rebounds and put home 21 second-chance points.