Hawks happy to bail out Bud
Hardaway stars to ends coach’s wait to beat San Antonio
Atlanta Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer finally has his first win over Gregg Popovich, his longtime former boss in San Antonio.
It took career and seasonhigh points from Tim Hardaway Jr. and Paul Millsap, respectively, to make it happen as the Hawks beat the Spurs 114-112 in overtime on Sunday night.
Hardaway matched his career best with 29 points, including a tying 3-pointer with 3.3 seconds remaining in regulation.
Budenholzer, in his fourth season as Atlanta’s coach, had been 0-6 against San Antonio.
Millsap scored a season-high 32 points and had 13 rebounds for the Hawks, who snapped a string of 11 straight losses to San Antonio since 2010.
“It’s great to get this win against a really good team and it’s good to get it for Bud,” Millsap said. “He’s happy to have it under his belt.”
Budenholzer spent 19 years with the Spurs, the last 17 as an assistant. He downplayed his personal motivation.
“You know, I was there for a long time,” Budenholzer said. “A lot of the same things we’ve tried to bring here ... but at the end of the day it’s a game for our players.”
Popovich knew the win meant more than Budenholzer revealed.
“If we’re going to lose, it’s good to feel somebody on the other end was made happy,” Popovich said.
It was only San Antonio’s third loss in 19 road games.
Hardaway scored nine points in overtime, including the go-ahead free throw with 10.8 seconds left. He missed the second free throw, but Millsap grabbed the rebound.
Dennis Schroder also made only one of two attempts with 3.9 seconds remaining.
Kawhi Leonard missed a last-second layup for San Antonio in OT. Leonard also had a potential winning short jumper spin around the rim before falling out to end regulation.
LaMarcus Aldridge had 27 points and 13 rebounds to lead San Antonio.
The Hawks couldn’t hold a 110-104 lead in overtime, and Leonard’s 3-pointer tied it at 112.
Millsap scored Atlanta’s last six points in the third and first 11 in the fourth period for 17 consecutive points. He finished with 15 in the fourth period.
“I was just being aggressive, trying to make something happen,” he said. “I felt like we were real sluggish offensively at that point so I just tried to get something going for us and then Tim came in and did a great job.”
Leonard had 13 points in his return to the starting lineup after missing two games with a stomach virus.
He made only 3 of 12 shots from the field. Leonard leads the Spurs with his average of 24.4 points per game but said he was “just trying to work my way back in” against Atlanta.
“Taking all that medicine and stuff made me a little weary out there,” he said.
The Spurs’ 16-2 mark through 18 road games before the loss was tied for the second-best in NBA history, trailing only a 17-1 mark by the 1971-72 LA Lakers. San Antonio won its first 13 road games.
Days numbered
Millsap’s days in Atlanta appear to be numbered as the Hawks are fielding offers for the three-time All-Star forward and impending free agent, ESPN reported on Sunday.
Atlanta is not actively shopping the 31-year-old, but is listening to trade offers in anticipation of losing Millsap without compensation next offseason.
Millsap has a player option worth $21.5 million for the 2017-18 season. He has averaged 17.4 points and 8.0 rebounds through 30 games so far this year.
The Hawks (17-16) are also listening to offers for swingmen Kyle Korver and Thabo Sefolosha, said ESPN.