Hawks' bench downs Celtics

["Stephen Beauregard" <sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Hawks' bench downs Celtics


By Shira Springer, Globe Staff, 7/20/2003

he Celtics dropped below .500 for the Reebok Pro Summer League, losing last
night to the Hawks, 89-80, at UMass-Boston's Clark Athletic Center Gymnasium.
Atlanta was led by its bench, which scored 60 points. Meanwhile, the Celtics
were hurt by 21 turnovers, though they shot 47.8 percent from the floor.



Brandon Hunter (16 points) accounted for much of Boston's accuracy, going 7
for 8. Hunter also continued to impress on the boards, pulling down 13
rebounds for his third straight double-double. Rookie point guard Marcus Banks
posted game highs with 18 points and eight assists.

''We came out with a lot of fire,'' said Banks. ''We hit a lot of shots. We
just didn't get stops when we needed stops. We kept coming up and down the
court, trading baskets with this team. They're a little bit bigger than us.
And every shot they took it was way easier than ours. And I guess we ran out
of gas a little bit towards the end, but it's a learning process.''

Spurs 80, Wizards 67 -- San Antonio remained undefeated to clinch the
championship with a victory over Washington. Nate Johnson and Devin Brown
combined for 35 points for the Spurs while Washington's Juan Dixon scored 27.
The Spurs, who came away with a 5-0 record, put the game away with an 18-3 run
early in the fourth quarter. Washington had a chance to cut the Spurs' lead,
but Dixon committed a pair of turnovers to allow the Spurs take a 46-36
halftime lead.

76ers 75, Knicks 70 -- Laron Profit scored 22 points and Philadelphia
withstood a late rally by New York in the final game for each squad. The 76ers
nearly blew a 10-point fourth-quarter lead but made 4 of 6 free throws in the
game's final 33.4 seconds to hold on. New York shot just 36 percent through
three quarters, allowing the Sixers to enter the fourth with a 59-49 lead. The
Knicks slowly chipped away at Philadelphia's lead, but the Sixers had enough
left.

Bucks 100, Cavaliers 80 -- Marcus Haislip led all scorers with 18 points to
carry Milwaukee over Cleveland. Cavaliers' rookie LeBron James bruised his
right knee in the first quarter after he made awkward contact with Milwaukee
point guard T.J. Ford. James ''hopes'' to play tonight against the Wizards.

Nets 82, Mavericks 77 -- Ace Custis sank a 3-pointer with 7:21 left in the
game to break a 57-57 tie to spark New Jersey to a 23-12 rally to beat Dallas.
Donny Marshall led all scoring with 18 points, one of four Nets with double
digits, and Brian Scalabrine had nine rebounds. New Jersey improved its record
to 4-1.

Thanks,

Steve
sb@xxxxxxxxxxxx

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