Tim Hardaway, Jr. capped off a truly dominant first quarter for the Atlanta Hawks against the Charlotte Hornets with a 40-foot buzzer beater on Sunday.
The Atlanta Hawks absolutely dominated the first quarter of their Sunday afternoon home game against their Southeast Division in the Charlotte Hornets, 25-9. Atlanta’s hot start versus a struggling Hornets team Sunday was capped off by a fantastic 40-foot buzzer beater by none other than Tim Hardaway, Jr.
Charlotte came into the game winners of eight of their last 10 games. Outside of backup point guard Jeremy Lin, the Hornets were ice cold in their first quarter against the stifling Hawks’ defense. Frankly, Charlotte couldn’t buy a bucket in that first frame.
Up 22-9 with less than three seconds remaining in the period, center Al Horford gather yet another Hornets’ miss on a rebound, throwing a chest pass ahead to Hardaway near the sideline.
With nobody anywhere near him, Hardaway had a clear shot at the basket from halfcourt to sink a remarkable shot at the end of the first quarter buzzer, hitting nothing but the bottom of the net. The crowd at Philips Arena in Downtown Atlanta went bonkers on that shot from such an unlikely player.
Hardaway rarely played for the Hawks during the first half of their 2015-16 season. Head coach Mike Budenholzer had a bit of a reclamation project on his hands with Hardaway, having to instill defensive principles and shot selection critiques he clearly did not learn while at Michigan or with the New York Knicks.
As the Hawks push towards another Eastern Conference Playoff run, Hardaway is becoming a more complete player for Atlanta and will have to play big minutes out on the wing for the Hawks should they do the improbable and force their way back into the Eastern Conference Finals again in 2016.