Just half an hour after the Grizzlies demolished the Knicks, the Hawks went on the road and cleanly took down the Western Conference powerhouse Los Angeles Clippers, 107-98.
The victory extended the Hawks' winning streak to five games.
And this was already the third time this season that the Hawks had put together a streak of five or more wins.
The Clippers had hardly played poorly today. Griffin put up 26 points and 10 rebounds, while DeAndre Jordan posted 15 points and 16 rebounds. Both recorded huge double-doubles.
On top of that, six Clippers players scored in double figures. Everyone gave the game everything they had.
But unfortunately, none of that mattered against the Hawks.
The Hawks won with 28 assists for the game and an outstanding 48.1% three-point percentage. Budenholzer's offensive philosophy could be summed up in two words—passing and threes.
This team valued off-ball offense and teamwork, and Budenholzer had even told his players, "If you can shoot mid-range jumpers, then don't be afraid to shoot threes."
Millsap had attempted just 113 three-pointers over the previous seven years combined, but after joining the Hawks, he attempted 212 in last season alone.
Backup power forward Mike Scott went 0-for-1 from beyond the arc in his rookie year, yet he also attempted 200 threes last season.
Al Jefferson Horford was no exception. By the end of this season, his three-point attempts would likely surpass the combined total from all his previous seasons.
Budenholzer had constantly worked to improve the Hawks' three-point shooting, supplementing it with active off-ball movement and team offense, allowing the Hawks to consistently create open looks beyond the arc.
Today's game was a classic example. The Hawks attempted 27 threes and made 13 of them.
And most of them had been wide open!
That was why they