Music: {allcanada} TEAGUE, HAWKS USE BIG THIRD QUARTER TO ROUT RAPTORS

Monday, April 16, 2012

{allcanada} TEAGUE, HAWKS USE BIG THIRD QUARTER TO ROUT RAPTORS

TORONTO -- Jeff Teague had 19 points and 10 assists as the Atlanta Hawks routed Toronto 109-87 Monday night, earning a split of their home-and-home series with the Raptors.

Teague torched the Raptors in the pivotal third quarter, scoring eight points and dishing out four helpers to help Atlanta pull away. The Hawks (36-25) cruised from there to remain tied for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with the Orlando Magic, who defeated the Philadelphia 76ers 113-100 earlier Monday.

Ivan Johnson had a team-high 21 points off the bench and Joe Johnson added 18 in the victory.

DeMar DeRozan led the way with 22 points for the Raptors (22-40), who looked solid defensively in recent wins over Boston and Atlanta but ran out of gas in their rematch with the Hawks. James Johnson added 18 points in a reserve role.

Toronto played without four regulars -- including point guard Jose Calderon, who missed his third straight game with a right eye injury. His replacements, Ben Uzoh and Gary Forbes, combined to shoot 5-for-23 from the field and had no answer for Teague on the defensive end.

Toronto dominated inside in the first half -- outscoring Atlanta 30-14 in the paint -- but still found itself trailing by three going into the break. The Hawks began to pull away on a pair of three-point plays from Teague, and Ivan Johnson hit a finger roll in traffic with 2:04 remaining to stretch the advantage to 72-64.

Marvin Williams buried a three-pointer from the right corner to cap a 17-6 Atlanta run, and the Hawks went into the fourth with a comfortable 79-68 lead.

A Tracy McGrady driving layup made it a 15-point game less than two minutes into the final quarter, and Toronto didn't get within single digits the rest of the way.

The Raptors held Atlanta to 6-of-21 shooting from beyond the arc but committed 19 turnovers leading to 21 Hawks points.

Consecutive three-pointers from Teague and Joe Johnson propelled Atlanta to a 16-10 lead midway through the opening quarter. Josh Smith added back-to-back 20-footers later in the quarter to preserve the advantage, but the Raptors rallied to pull ahead on a James Johnson three-pointer with 1:12 left.

Ed Davis added a hook shot in the final moments -- set up by an acrobatic Forbes loose-ball save at the other end -- as Toronto led 32-30 after one.

The Air Canada Centre crowd of 15,992 erupted early in the second frame when James Johnson unleashed a vicious one-handed slam over Atlanta big man Vladimir Radmanovic, one of four Toronto dunks in the quarter. The Hawks went back in front on a Teague steal and slam, and Ivan Johnson knocked down an awkward banked hook shot as part of a late run that sent Atlanta into halftime with a 54-51 edge.

Notes: Calderon was in uniform but was relegated to third-string duty. Raptors head coach Dwane Casey said prior to the game that Calderon would only be used in an emergency situation, but added that the Spaniard wasn't being shut down for the season. ... The Raptors signed Uzoh and F Alan Anderson for the remainder of the season Monday. Both players' second 10-day contracts had expired. The club also declined to renew PG Justin Dentmon's 10-day contract. Dentmon appeared in four games with Toronto, averaging 5.5 points and 2.3 assists in 18 minutes. ... Hall of Famer and former Toronto Blue Jays second baseman Roberto Alomar sat courtside.