When the Atlanta Hawks have lost basketball games this year, you can usualy point to a single quarter as the reason why. They were outscored 38-17 in the third quarter in the loss to the Blazers on Sunday, they scored only 15 points in the 4th quarter in a loss to Chicago and tonight vs the No. 1 team in the Western Conference, Atlanta was outscored 41-22 in the first quarter. Golden State only outscored Atlanta 79-75 the rest of the way, but the damage was done already. Atlanta’s offense was non-existent the whole night and Golden State cruised to a 120-97 victory over the Hawks.
For most of the game, the Hawks defense was surprisingly not the problem. Golden State was red hot from three in the first quarter, but ended the game shooting 47% from the field and 35% from three. There have been plenty of games where the Hawks let their opponents have a big night shooting, but this was not one of those nights.
Atlanta’s offense could not find its rhythm all night long. The Hawks shot 33% from the field and 26% from three and it is hard to point to any good performances from anyone tonight.
Trae Young still is having trouble shooting the ball, going 4-12 from the field and 1-6 from three. He and Jalen Johnson both had double-doubles and were not the biggest problems. One of Atlanta’s biggest concerns this year was shooting and spacing and they were going to need both Bogdan Bogdanovic and De’Andre Hunter to help with that. Bogdanovic had a really tough night, shooting 2-14 from the field and 1-7 from three. Hunter, who has been really good this season, shot 3-12 and 0-6 from three. Atlanta had been 4-0 with Hunter available and he had scored 22 points in three of his four games this year, but tonight was tough. Atlanta could not find offense from anywhere, whether it was the starters or the bench and it cost them tonight vs one of the NBA’s elite teams. The Hawks had 21 offensive rebounds tonight compared to Golden State’s seven and they still could not make it count.
Golden State was elite on defense tonight and did just enough on offense after an explosive first quarter. They shot 47% from the floor and 35% from three in the game and Andrew Wiggins led the way with 27 points. Steph Curry had 23 points on 4-6 shooting from three.
Up next for the Hawks is a big game in Chicago in the NBA Cup. The Hawks are the last undefeated team in East Group C and they would reach 3-0 with a win. This loss drops them to 7-9 and the game vs the Bulls is the final one in their current road trip.
Let’s recap tonight’s game.
The Hawks continued with their same starting lineup. Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Jalen Johnson, and Clint Capela.
Golden State’s starters were Steph Curry, Lindy Waters III, Andrew Wiggins, Draymond Green and Trayce Jackson-Davis.
The first five minutes of the game were perfectly fine for the Hawks. They trailed 16-15, but they were 3-6 from three and keeping up with the Warriors.
The rest of the first half was ugly.
Golden State would proceed to go on a 13-2 run to take a 29-17 lead and that was just forshadowing what was to come for the Hawks. They could not buy a basket and Golden State was hitting open threes. The Warriors are arguably the deepest team in the NBA and their bench was far superior to Atlanta’s in the first half. Golden State stretched their lead to 41-22 after the first quarter and the Hawks were already in deep trouble after just one quarter of play.
The defense was bad in the first quarter, but the offense was the main issue. The Hawks shot 35% from the field and 29% from three. Golden State on the other hand was 60% from the field and 46% from three. The bench for the Warriors outscored the Hawks bench 19-3. It was a really rough first quarter for Bogdan Bogdanovic, Onyeka Okongwu, De’Andre Hunter, and Kobe Bufkin.
The Hawks defense in the second quarter was much better and there were times where it looked like Atlanta might close the lead up. They cut it to 16 with 5:59 left in the half, but Golden State proceeded to close the half on a 12-3 run. The defense held Golden State to 2-13 shooting from three in the second quarter, but the offense was dreadful. Atlanta shot 28% from the field and 22% from three in the second quarter and despite having some stretches to tighten the lead, Golden State led 67-42 at the half.
Atlanta shot 30% from the field in the first half and 26% from three. The lone bright spot was Jalen Johnson, who had 10 points and six rebounds.
Golden State shot 48% from the field, but just 31% from three. The Warriors bench outscored the Hawks 28-10 in the first half. Bogdan Bogdanovic particlualry had a poor shooting half, starting 1-7 from the field.
The shooting woes for Trae Young also continued. Young has struggled shooting the ball so far this year and he was 1-6 in the first half, scoring only three points.
The third quarter was the best one of the night for the Hawks. They outscored the Warriors 33-23 and looked like they might make a game out of it. With 2:38 to go in the quarter, the Hawks had cut the lead to 12 and had the momentum. The problem was that any time the Hawks appeared to have momentum, the Warriors halted it. Golden State led 90-75 going to the fourth. Atlanta held Golden State to 29% from three in the third quarter and Young led the offense (which was still struggling) with seven points and five assists.
Atlanta never made a serious run in the fourth quarter. The defense kept them in it for a period of time, but the offense was dreadful still. Atlanta lost the game by 23 points and now heads to Chicago 7-9.
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