ATLANTA — Atlanta Hawks coach Larry Drew can stop worrying about his team developing a killer instinct when they have a team down.
The Hawks buried the Charlotte Bobcats early and cruised to a 113-90 win Wednesday night at Philips Arena to move to a 14-6 record and tie the Miami Heat for the Southeast Division lead.
“That’s about as well as we’ve played in a first half all year,” Drew said. “I think we got up to a 17-point lead but it was beyond that. It was how we did it. I thought we were on the money with our coverage.”
Josh Smith, who scored 18 points and had five rebounds and three assists, said, “I think normally when we get big leads we tend to get complacent a little bit and kind of let our guard down. Tonight we were able to keep our foot on the gas and not let up.”
Al Horford’s streak of consecutive double-double games — points and rebounds — ended at seven only because he got a lot of rest in the blowout. He had 11 points and three rebounds in 31 minutes.
“The games we get into trouble, we spot them 30,” Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap lamented. “The run-outs hurt us. Some of that happened off turnovers. Right off the bat they were at the rim.”
Devin Harris led all scorers in the first half with 16 points, including three 3-point shots. He scored a season-high 20 points off the bench. The Hawks made 9 of 16 first-half 3-point shots, shooting 60 percent from the field overall. They finished with a season-high 14 3-pointers.
The Bobcats (7-15) didn’t have a player in double figures until Kemba Walker made a six-foot driving jump shot with 6:54 in the third quarter to reach 11 points. He finished with 13 points and six assists. Gerald Henderson scored 17 points and Ramon Session added 16 points off the bench.
“Our defense is struggling,” said a subdued Henderson, his feet in a tub of ice. “We can’t come up with any consistent stops. It’s on everybody. We’re playing in the NBA. There’s some tough match-ups out there for whatever lineups we have out there.
“It got out of control tonight. It got to the point where we were out of the game early.
“Just man up. Box your man out and go get the ball. That’s what it comes down to. That’s a toughness thing. We’re not the biggest team but we’re not the smallest team either.”
The Bobcats’ losing streak was extended to 10 games. The Hawks are 4-0 on the season in the second game of back-to-backs.
NOTES: Kyle Korver started for the Hawks for the first time since back spasms forced him out in the third quarter of the Nov. 28 game versus the Bobcats. Korver came off the bench last night in Orlando and played for slightly under 20 minutes. Coach Larry Drew said Korver’s minutes would be restricted to roughly 20 minutes again in this game. … Drew was once again emphasizing not overlooking the Bobcats, who came into tonight’s game having lost their last nine in a row. “You don’t want them to get well at your place,” Drew said. … The Bobcats’ Ben Gordon went off for 26 points in less than 30 minutes in the Nov. 28 game. … Despite the string of losses, Bobcats coach Mike Dunlap sees his team learning a significant lesson lately, which is that playing hard and well in the first quarter is important. “During the games is where you learn your lessons in the NBA,” he said. … Dunlap’s concerns going into the game were his team’s ability to move the ball without allowing the Hawks to steal it. … Both teams played Wednesday night and then traveled. The Hawks beat the Magic 86-80 and the Bobcats lost to the Los Angeles Clippers at home, 100-94. Drew said that given that, the team that had the most energy would be the team that won. Dunlap grinned, “It always is. You could go 20 more games and you’d hear the same thing from both coaches. We have certain key phrases!”