Hawks run out of gas in fourth quarter, lose to Thunder 128-104

Let’s not talk about the fourth.

The Atlanta Hawks were in Oklahoma on Sunday evening to take on the Thunder. Going into the game, both teams started the season 2-0 and were looking for their first 3-0 starts in years.

The Hawks had an uphill battle to climb as De’Andre Hunter was ruled out for the game with knee inflammation, and Bogdan Bogdanovic is still out with a hamstring injury. With the injury to Hunter, rookie Zaccharie Risacher got the first start of his career.

Trae Young got off to a fast start, knocking down two deep three-pointers early in the first quarter.

It didn’t take long for Risacher to join in on the action, as he had a solid sequence for the Hawks. He was able to get a putback from an offensive rebound, and the next possession he got a layup. And following that, he got fouled on a layup.

With injuries to the frontcourt, David Roddy saw minutes in the first and made the most of them with four points.

The Hawks kept the lead through the first quarter, but turnovers hurt them the most from having an even bigger lead. Going into the second quarter, the Hawks led 27-23.

Garrison Mathews started the quarter knocking down a three-pointer.

The Thunder kept the game close throughout the second, having an answer for every shot the Hawks made.

The Hawks slowly started adding to their lead down the stretch of the second, as Young got this layup to go.

Things did not go well for the Hawks with about a minute left going into halftime, as turnovers continued to hurt them, and the Thunder started to find a groove, going on an 11-2 run ending the second quarter.

The Hawks started the second half slow, as the Thunder went on a 7-0 run. They were able to weather the storm, and Risacher came down with another offensive rebound and putback layup.

Young found Clint Capela for their patent alley-oop connection.

The Thunder extended their lead midway through the third, but the Hawks knocked down back-to-back three-pointers to cut their deficit.

The Hawks kept it close, and going into the fourth quarter they were down 89-86.

They brought their deficit down to one point to start the fourth, and from there, the Thunder put their foot on the gas and extended their lead to double digits. The Hawks were able to get a few shots to fall, but the Thunder continued to answer back and piled on the points, and, led by Chet Holmgren and Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, the Thunder topped the Hawks, 128-104.

Young finished with 24 points and eight assists, Mathews and Onyeka Okongwu finished with 14 points each, and Risacher finished with 13 points.

The Hawks will be back in action tomorrow against the Washington Wizards.