BRYANT SCORES 39 AS RAVENS OUTPACE HAWKS
Montreal Ravens @ Atlanta Hawks 110-96Mar. 14, Atlanta - Atlanta led by 12 points after 3 quarters thanks to Peja Stojakovic's 26-point effort but it was the Ravens who came out on top after the end of the game.
Montreal opened the quarter with back-to-back three-pointers from Kobe Bryant and Ray Allen which cut the lead to just 6 points. Another 3 from Allen after the timeout cut it to 3 points and a steal by Robert Pack led to a transition three-pointer from Bryant in the right corner.
After going on a 12-0 run, the 4th quarter ended with a 39-22 score in favor of the Ravens.
Bryant led the Ravens with 39 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals, 2 blocks, and only one miss from downtown.
"When we went on a run early in the 4th quarter and I was hitting shot after shot with a defender on my face, I knew it was one of those nights. I just need to have the ball and a view of the rim so I can let it fly." said Bryant after only missing a total of 6 shots tonight.
For the Hawks, it was Peja Stojakovic whose effort was wasted. He scored 26 points in 10 of 19 shooting from the field and was the only player to score 12+ or more points for his team.
"We played like crap tonight and we had a meltdown in the 4th quarter. They were just hitting shot after shot against us and we couldn't do anything about it. We shouldn't let this happen again." argued Peja.
NOTES:Ravens were without Brad Daugherty again because of back spasms... Allen was 0 for 3 until their 4th quarter rally.... Stojakovic scored his season-high in points tonight with 26, he currently averages 6.2 ppg....
Player of the Game: Kobe Bryant (39 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, 3 stls, 2 blks, 4-5 3PT)
Ravens:
R. Allen (17 pts, 3 rebs, 2 asts, 7-13 FG)
D. Wilkins (17 pts, 6 rebs, 4 asts, 1 blk)
R. Pack (15 pts, 5 rebs,9 asts)
Hawks:
P. Stojakovic (26 pts, 2 rebs, 4 asts, 2 stls)
A. Henderson (11 pts, 8 rebs, 3-11 FG)
S. Smith (10 pts, 4 rebs, 3 asts, 1 stl)