With Houston playing without Dwight Howard (injury) and James Harden (one-game suspension for kicking LeBron James on Sunday) and opting for a perimeter-based lineup for long stretches (including sweet-shooting center Donatas Motiejunas), perhaps Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer should have grouped Teague and Schroder for 35-plus minutes.
Or maybe Budenholzer -- the odds-on favorite for NBA Coach of the Year -- patiently chose the optimum time to unleash the Teague-Schroder two-step, helping Atlanta wipe out multiple double-digit deficits and outscore Houston by a one-sided margin of 32-15 during the decisive fourth quarter.
Speaking of which, the Rockets attempted 15 three-pointers in the final quarter -- a 12-minute cycle which began with Houston (41-19) holding a nine-point lead that eventually mushroomed to 15 (at the 9:47 mark).
Heck, not even the bombs-away Hawks would be so frivolous with their shot selection in the final moments, when owning a quasi-comfortable lead. But then again the metrics-driven Rockets loathe mid-range jumpers.
"We were fortunate to dig ourselves out of (the 15-point) hole," said Budeholzer after the game, while also lamenting his team's lack of focus in the opening half. "I'm proud of our guys."
Teague (25 points, six rebounds) and Schroder were unflappable during the Hawks' frenzied 32-9 finish. They were proficient on the whole, as well, combining for 41 points and 14 assists and shooting 13 of 26 from the field.
And on defense, Schroder helped clamp down on Rockets reserve Jason Terry, who scored 21 points (on 8 of 13 shooting) but faltered down the stretch.
"Dennis and Jeff playing together really helped us," said Budenholzer, acknowledging Schroder's defensive prowess along the perimeter. "Tonight, having both ball-handlers out there and attacking was good."
Teague, who had a sterling on-court ratio of plus-23, agreed with his coach's sentiment.
After Smith buried a long-range triple to boost Houston's lead back to double digits (around the 10-minute mark), everything seemed right in his world.
As part of that, Smith (14 points, seven rebounds) even shoooooshed the Philips Arena faithful after the triple, prematurely believing he had sewn up the Rockets' 19th road victory.
But things went haywire roughly two minutes later, when Hawks reserve Mike Scott connected on a seemingly innocuous jumper, trimming the deficit to 13.
Soon thereafter, Atlanta would roll to a 19-3 spurt over the next six minutes -- a prodigious and balanced run that included five different Hawks scorers (Teague, Scott, Schroder, Paul Millsap, Al Horford).
To be fair, the home crowd had been consistently loud throughout the game; but Smith's humorous and innocent gesture amped-up the noise to an ear-splitting level that's typically reserved for playoff outings.
Which brings us to this: Regardless of Tuesday's result, the Hawks were still prohibitive favorites to claim the Southeast Division title, break the franchise record for seasonal victories (57), capture the East's No. 1 playoff seed and perhaps flirt with the hallowed 60-win mark.
But even with a dream regular season like this ... the Hawks (winners of five straight) must still be reminded of what lies ahead in roughly seven weeks. They must be taught a lesson in what's expected, intensity-wise, once the postseason commences.
The powers-that-be picked the ideal long weekend to unveil the Dominique Wilkins statue outside Philips Arena (Thursday/Friday).
At the time of this writing, the Hawks (48-12) are winning at an 80-percent clip ... and since Jan. 15, the Cavaliers (38-24, 4th in the East) have lost just twice with LeBron in the lineup (18-4 overall during that span).
Here's the scene: With the Rockets riding a 10-point lead, forward Corey Brewer drove hard to the basket, only to be rejected by DeMarre Carroll near the rim. (The Hawks tallied five blocks in the second half.)
After Houston finally corralled the long rebound, Trevor Ariza tossed an outlet pass to Terrence Jones, who attacked the basket in search of a dunk opportunity ... only to be swatted away by Horford.
Those 45 seconds of furious action were a thing of beauty ... even if neither club could find the bottom of the net.
