Hawks beat Magic in OT, try out Dampier

Atlanta defeated the Magic 89-87 in OT from Orlando in the first meeting of the two since their playoff series last season. While it was a terrific game, Orlando had every chance to win it, but 3′s by Jason Richardson and Jameer Nelson both missed. I really don’t want to discuss this, as I would bring up the resilience that’s characterized this team all season. Instead, there is news brewing off the court. The first is Atlanta signed Erick Dampier to a 10-day (or tryout) contract. It’s their effort to solve the missing depth at center with Al and Jason Collins injured. Early word that Erick would go through some plays and possibly be called upon to stop Dwight Howard. Uh, no. Erick only played less than two minutes and didn’t attempt a shot. We’ll see how he does Sunday when the Heat come calling. The other is the, okay, I’ll just go ahead and say it, snub of Josh Smith for the All-Star game. Joe Johnson got a berth, but Josh was left off an...