Hawks lose to mystical layup hex, whistles, 114-108

Frustrating night all around.

The Hawks kicked off their post-All-Star break with a Trae Young, Dyson Daniels, Zaccharie Risacher, Mouhamed Gueye, and Onyeka Okongwu starting lineup.

Orlando began the game with two run out buckets, but they couldn’t contend with Atlanta’s tenacity in the halfcourt. The Hawks went on a 15-4 largely on the back of their stiff defense.

Okongwu was an early recipient of a close-range attempt plus the harm:

Zaccharie Risacher displayed a nice pull up triple in transition as well:

Out of the timeout, the Hawks didn’t cease being the aggressors either, and they pushed the lead out to double digits.

The trio of Caris LeVert, Georges Niang, and Terance Mann all made their State Farm Arena debuts for the Hawks in the first quarter. Later, Clint Capela checked into the game for the first time since January 27.

Of course, the one constant remains Dyson Daniels doing Dyson Daniels things:

After one quarter, the Hawks led 33-21.

The Hawks came out of the gates with a 7-0 run to again take firm control of the contest. Lost in their strong defensive performance, the Hawks had trouble scoring at the rim through the first half. They hit a scoring lull, and Orlando hung around despite their difficulties hitting threes.

The middle of the second quarter was a physical slog, with the Hawks hovering around a 10-point lead for the majority of the time. But the toll of a slower halfcourt pace plus a tight whistle knocked the good guys out of their rhythm towards the end of the quarter.

The finish to the half was utterly disappointing, with the Hawks ultimately ceding what was once a 19-point lead in its entirety.

At halftime, the Hawks trailed 59-58. Trae Young had 18 points at half, but similar to the previous Magic game, the duo of Paolo Banchero and Franz Wagner combined for 34 of Orlando’s 59 points.

In the third quarter, the Hawks looked to regain a foothold in the contest. It took until a quick outlet inbounds to Risacher for a three plus a Cole Anthony technical foul to kickstart the Hawks offense.

That kickstart was short-lived, as the team continued to bleed points on seemingly easy layups. Orlando was able to build as much as a 9-point lead during the third quarter.

Atlanta continued to leave way too many points at the free throw line (18-for 26 or 69%) and at the rim (13-for-31 or 42%) through three quarters, and as a result they found themselves down 90-81 heading into the final period.

Trae Young got a technical foul after pointing at an official early in the fourth quarter. But maybe that was just a ploy to wake himself and the rest of the offense up:

The Hawks still had a mountain to climb to give themselves the lead in this one, even if the scoreboard only read a single-digit deficit.

That mountain included the Hawks putting the Magic in the bonus before the 9:00 remaining mark largely due to an unkind whistle. The officiating plus the poor shotmaking meant there was a tiny margin for error if the Hawks were going to be able to complete a comeback.

Improbably, the Hawks slowly crawled their way back into the proceedings.

This Caris LeVert take was a big bucket:

Trae Young did his thing as well:

But the Magic hit back-to-back contested threes after the game had been tied up at 103 late in the fourth quarter, and it was here that the comeback fizzled out just short.

Atlanta fell 114-108. Trae Young led the way with 38 points and five assists, but ultimately the team was done in by 45% shooting at the rim and 68% shooting from the free throw line.

The Hawks will next play at home on Sunday evening against the Detroit Pistons.