Mount Mutombo Has Hawks Soaring

Coach Chris Ford of the Milwaukee Bucks says the Atlanta Hawks have their best team in 10 years, and Dikembe Mutombo makes the difference.

“They’ve got a great anchor with Dikembe,” Ford said Saturday night, after the Hawks turned up the defensive pressure in the second half to beat the Bucks 94-71 for their ninth straight victory.

“They haven’t had that,” Ford said, adding that Mookie Blaylock always has been one of the most respected defensive guards in the NBA.

“Mookie and Mutombo are a great combination,” Ford said. “Mookie’s a great guard who can cause havoc. Mutombo makes him even better. Mutombo’s back there cleaning up anything in the middle. That combination is working very well for them.”

The Hawks have won 16 games in The Omni, after losing their home opener. Overall, they have a 25-11 record, despite having key players miss portions of the season.

Blaylock missed four games and Steve Smith 10, each with sprained ankles. Alan Henderson has been out all season because of illness.

The Hawks have good balance offensively. Christian Laettner is averaging more than 19 points per game and both Blaylock and Smith over 17. Mutombo is averaging more than 12 points and 12 rebounds, but has been a bigger presence defensively. He has 129 blocks in 35 games.

“Atlanta’s defense kept us out of sync,” said Andrew Lang, a former Hawk now with the Bucks.

Lang noticed only three players who were with the Hawks when he was - Smith, Blaylock and Tyrone Corbin.

“The Hawks cleaned house, and it’s working,” Lang said.

Magic avenge loss to Heat

The Orlando Magic used balanced scoring, led by Penny Hardaway’s 19 points, to beat the Miami Heat 99-87 Sunday in Miami.

The Magic avenged their most lopsided loss ever against Miami, a 96-76 defeat Dec. 26.