BASKETBALL
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Hawks guard Rotnei Clarke said it was a nice change to see enigmatic teammate Larry Davidson break into a big grin during Saturday's thrashing of Sydney.
Big Laz likes to joke and rib teammates off the court but he's usually Mr Serious when the ball goes up.
The 31-year-old southpaw couldn't help but chuckle after making a right-handed circus shot in the third quarter against the Kings.
Davidson was falling backwards with the ball as the shot clock was about to expire, his view of the basket blocked by two defenders.
He threw the ball up and it softly banked off the backboard before dropping through the net.
"Laz throwing that one off the backboard, I don't know how it went in but you could see him smile, and it's fun to see Laz playing with emotion," Clarke said.
"Seeing Laz playing with emotion lifts everybody else up because you don't usually see that. [Import] Kevin's [Tiggs] always going to play with emotion. He's like that on and off the floor but Laz was a big key in that, just getting us going."
Davidson has increased his scoring and rebounding output lately. In the past five games he has averaged 8.4 points and 6.6 rebounds off the bench.
Clarke said Davidson, Oscar Forman and Tyson Demos found the right words to jolt the Hawks out of their pre-game lethargy against Sydney.
"We were a little flat and going through the motions a bit, and they were getting us juiced up," he said.
"They talked us up and made sure we were going hard. During the game we lifted each other up and we were having fun. There was a lot of our guys talking to each other out there and getting each other fired up."
The Hawks play New Zealand Breakers in Friday's Heritage Round clash at WIN Entertainment Centre.
Tickets are $10 for children, $15 for adults and $40 for families.