Ludden: Bowen shows off shooting

[Kori Ellis]

Bowen shows off shooting
Web Posted: 11/14/2004 12:00 AM CST

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/b....544c766d.html

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

ATLANTA — From holding a pep rally before last week's home opener to hiring a live band to play at each game to having a real hawk swoop in just before tipoff, the Atlanta Hawks' new ownership group is doing its best to fill Philips Arena.

Hawks forward Al Harrington even opted to stage his own fourth-quarter give-away Saturday night. With the Spurs well on their way to a 103-88 victory, he grabbed the ball in frustration, wheeled and let fly.

Harrington, who seemed surprised by his own strength, watched as the ball sailed nearly 100 feet and appeared to glance off a woman in the sixth row. That it somehow failed to hit one of the thousands of empty seats only typified Atlanta's marksmanship.

The Spurs held the Hawks to 28.3 percent shooting in the first half, then let their defensive specialist show off his own aim. Having watched Manu Ginobili bury Miami one night earlier, Bruce Bowen did the same to Atlanta: He made all five of his 3-pointers and scored 22 points, his most ever in a regular-season game. A crowd of 11,326 served as witness.

Three of Bowen's 3-pointers came in the first five minutes of the third quarter, ballooning the Spurs' 44-35 lead at halftime to a 24-point advantage. Tim Duncan divided his 26 points evenly between each half and added 18 rebounds as the Spurs claimed their fifth victory in six games.

"Duncan played very well; he's hard to stop," Atlanta forward Antoine Walker said. "Who would have expected (Bowen) to go 5 for 5, though?"

Though Bowen led the league in 3-point shooting two seasons ago, he had not scored in double digits in the Spurs' first five games. He set his previous regular-season high of 21 points also at Philips Arena, on Dec. 5, 2001.

"It was nothing special," Bowen said. "It was just a matter of getting opportunities tonight and trying to take advantage of them."

Ginobili did the same on Friday, scoring 29 points in the Spurs' victory over the Heat. On Saturday, he was content to act as a distributor, matching his career high with nine assists.

"We do a great job moving the ball," Duncan said. "We don't really know who's going to get it, but guys are ready to shoot and orchestrate the offense."

The Hawks, in the midst of a rebuilding project, can't say the same. They hired Mike Woodson as their new coach this summer and reshaped their roster, obtaining, among others, Walker and Harrington. So far, however, they remain a work in progress.

After losing its first four games by an average of 20.3 points, Atlanta picked up victory No. 1 Friday night in New Orleans. The Hawks arrived home minutes before the Spurs touched down at 2 a.m. but had a harder time waking up Saturday night.

Walker missed 12 of his first 16 shots before hitting all four of his 3-pointers in the fourth quarter, reducing the Spurs' lead to 81-71 with 8:56 remaining. Spurs rookie Beno Udrih coolly answered with a 3-pointer of his own and the Hawks never seriously threatened again.

"That was a big shot," Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. "Probably the biggest shot of the second half. That got us going again."

Though Philips Arena hasn't exactly been one of the most formidable places to play, the Spurs hadn't won here since 2001. Two seasons ago, Jason Terry beat them with a last-second shot. Last season, they snoozed their way to another loss.

"If you want to be the best, you have to respect all the teams you play against and understand it doesn't matter who you play," Popovich said. "It's about meeting certain standards on both ends of the court. That's how you get better. That's how you gain confidence."

[Mark in Austin]

"If you want to be the best, you have to respect all the teams you play against and understand it doesn't matter who you play," Popovich said. "It's about meeting certain standards on both ends of the court. That's how you get better. That's how you gain confidence."

Nice quote, nice philosophy.