NBA schedule: Redick debuts, Granger returns

Saturday featured seven NBA games, many of them close. Let’s dig in.

Hawks 103, Bucks 102

As long as Josh Smith is going to stick around, the Hawks might as well win, right? Atlanta is 2-0 since the deadline, notching a one-point win over the Bucks on Saturday. Al Horford picked up the game-winner -- a half-hook bank shot, of course -- to cap a 23-point, 11-rebound night. The Jeff Teague-Devin Harris backcourt outplayed Milwaukee’s Brandon Jennings-Monta Ellis pairing, too. The Hawks duo scored 44 on a .692 eFG with 13 assists and three turnovers; the Bucks tandem had 25 points on .442 eFG with 15 assists and six turnovers.

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Redick scored 16 points and added seven assists for a Bucks team sorely in need of an extra shooter and ball distributor. He came off the bench, spelling mostly Brandon Jennings but at times playing alongside both Jennings and Monta Ellis. The game was tight throughout much of the game until the Bucks began to pull away midway through the fourth quarter.

The Bucks led by as much ten after a Redick layup made it 91-81 with seven minutes left. Milwaukee was up seven with just over three minutes left before the Hawks went on an 11-0 run over the next minute and a half, capped off by a Josh Smith-to-Horford alley-oop that put Atlanta up 101-100. Ellis responded, making a layup with ten seconds left to give the Bucks a one-point lead. The Hawks drew up a play for Horford out of the time out, allowing him to sink a jumper to give the Hawks a 103-102 lead. An Ellis off-balance shot in the paint was off, sealing the victory for Atlanta.

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Here is Hasheem Thabeet relaxing in his giraffe print pajamas (that’s what they are, right?). It’s a COLD WORLD OUT HERE, so he’s gotta wear his jacket, too.

(Photo via The Dream Shake)

For reference: The record for threes in one half is 14, which the Rockets tied that night against the Warriors. Something to keep an eye on.

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The Clippers are 2-0 versus the Jazz this season after sweeping a back-to-back home-and-home series versus Utah on Dec. 28 and 30 to drop the Jazz to 15-17 on the year. The Jazz have gone 16-7 since those losses to improve to 31-24 on the year and are currently in seventh place in the Western Conference standings.

The Clippers are currently in third place in the Western Conference standings and trail the Thunder by just two games for the second seed. Utah trails Golden State by just one game for the sixth seed, which could potentially setup a first round playoff series with Clippers this spring.

Smith has had a lot of recent success against Milwaukee, giving them another reason to be bummed about not making the deal. In the last five meetings between the Hawks and Bucks, Smith has averaged 20.8 points, 15.0 rebounds and 2.8 blocks. This will be the first matchup this year between the two teams, and Atlanta won two of three contests last season.

Time and location: 8:30 p.m. ET at the BMO Harris Bradley Center

While Indiana has played well this season, they certainly could use Granger’s scoring ability. The Pacers are just 24th in the NBA in scoring, putting up 93.8 points per game. Granger has led the team in scoring the last five seasons, averaging 18.7 points on 41.6 percent shooting overall and 38.1 percent from three last year.

Indiana’s game on Saturday against Detroit will be the second of a home-and-home between the two teams. The Pacers destroyed the Pistons 114-82 on Friday night in Indianapolis.

The Jazz enter the game having won three games in a row to improve to 31-24 on the season. Both the Clippers and Jazz were rumored to be active before the trade deadline, but neither team made a move to improve heading into the final stretch of the regular season.

J.J. Redick is expected to make his Milwaukee debut as the Bucks host the Atlanta Hawks. The Bucks acquired Redick before Thursday’s trade deadline and are four games behind the Hawks in the Eastern Conference standings.