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Recap from yesterdays game.....


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Summer Hawks Still Perfect: 4-0 After 87-69 Win on Friday

Before the start of Atlanta's trip to Boston for the annual Summer League, Hawks coach Eric Musselman joked that after two straight subpar seasons in the summer competition his team would look to go undefeated. Few took him seriously. Well, after four games, the goal is still within reach as Atlanta continued their winning ways in a 87-69 thumping of the Orlando Magic.

The Hawks were never really challenged in this one. Orlando briefly enjoyed a three-point lead, but Atlanta was in total command, leading by as many as 18 points and dominating from the bench by outscoring the Magic, 37-19.

"This was our best game, in terms of coming out and establishing things at the beginning," said Musselman. "We were a little worried with giving them the day off yesterday, but they did a good job. Everyone did a good job with their minutes and I couldn't be prouder of their effort. Our next two games (Minnesota and Boston) means we will face two of the better teams here, so we have a challenge ahead and but we're looking forward to it."

Musselman's troops had balanced production with every player reaching the scoring column. DerMarr Johnson led Atlanta with 16 points, while Dion Glover had 13 and Dan Dickau recorded 12, ten of which came in the first half when the Hawks establish their momentum. Leading the bench brigade was Bud Eley, who had 12 points and six rebounds and Glen Whisby, who finished with 10 points, nine rebounds, two assists, one steal and one block.

One of Dickau's heroes is former Hawk and Hall of Fame guard Pete Maravich. And in the second quarter, the rookie from Gonzaga showed flashes of the former great with several sweet assists and dazzling moves of his own. He helped the Hawks extend their positive margin to 14 over the first six minutes of the second as Atlanta increased their lead to a 32-18 score. Tiring a bit as the quarter progressed which resulted in him committing a couple of turnovers, Musselman noticed this and gave his floor general the opportunity to collect himself on the bench as the half neared. The Hawks shot 41 percent after 20 minutes and stymied Orlando into 26.8 from the floor. In addition, both teams really started to get more involved after a first quarter that saw both teams combine for...two assists. Atlanta had eight at the half and Orlando finished with five.

In perhaps his most assertive stretch of the summer league, Dickau nailed two three pointers in the first few minutes of the opening quarter and led the Hawks with eight points. He also grabbed two rebounds and dished out one assist. Despite hitting 33 percent of their attempts, Atlanta continued a nice job of contesting Magic attempts and forced them into 21 percent shooting, taking a 22-14 lead after one. Johnson, Mario Bennett and Chris Carr each tossed in four.

HAWK TALK: Hawks General Manager Pete Babcock quickly refuted a New York Daily News article on Friday that stated Atlanta would be interested in a trade involving guard Latrell Sprewell ... "The story had not one iota of truth to it," Babcock told Hawks.com prior to the team's summer league game against Orlando. "We have not talked to the Knicks at all about any trade involving Jason Terry and that's all there is to it." ... The Daily News story said the Hawks were looking to move Terry and a reported source claimed the two teams have been talking about such a deal "all summer" ... According to the paper, Sprewell appears to be on the block because the Knicks front office has concluded that it can no longer survive with Sprewell and Allan Houston playing alongside one another ... The story took on a life of its own Friday afternoon with ESPNNews adding the Cleveland Cavaliers to mix and including players like the Cavs' Andre Miller, the Hawks' Alan Henderson and Nazr Mohammed and New York's Othella Harrington among the core of the deal ... Hawks center Theo Ratliff's status remained up in the air as the 6-11 center was absent from the team for the Orlando game after closing on a new home in Atlanta Friday afternoon ... The team knew of Ratliff's situation and reiterated that they hoped he would arrive in Boston Friday night or early Saturday prior to Atlanta's fifth summer league game against Minnesota at 3 p.m. ... One of happiest moments for the Hawks group came late in the second quarter when center Casey Shaw scored his first points of the week -- he was the last player to have scored for Atlanta in summer competition ... It appears as if the Hawks and fellow unbeaten Boston are on their way to a championship showdown this Sunday ... They are the only remaining teams without a blemish on their record thus far ... The Hawks have gotten to the free throw line more than any other team after Friday's competition ... Atlanta has made 111-of-140 FTs, 79.3-percent ... The closest team to them? The San Antonio Spurs, who have made 87-of-119 attempts.

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